Bittersweet
by Shelby Rae
Summary: Bittersweet - pleasant but painful. When Bella loses one person, she gains someone else. BellaxEdward
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! I actually have a full plan for this story! **

**Background: Charlie is good friends with the Cullen's and Bella just moved in with Charlie a few months ago. Basically this story is starting at the end of the summer right before school starts. The Cullen's are still vampires, however they eat human food, but it doesn't give them any nourishment, so they still need to hunt. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They are Ms. Stephenie Meyer's wonderful creation.**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 1: The First Dinner

_Bella's Point of View: _

"Bella!" Charlie called out. I put down my book and got off my bed.

"Coming dad." I raced down the stairs, and tripped on the last one.

"Whoa." Someone with strong arms caught me before I hit the ground. "You OK?" I took a deep breath and then looked up to see who caught me.

"Um, yeah, thanks."

"Sure." Once he knew I was OK, and standing, he let me go, and extended his hand. "I'm Edward."

"Hi." He looked at me as if waiting for me to say something more. I didn't know what he wanted me to say so I just stood there silently.

"I'm assuming you must be Bella?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry I forgot to mention that."

"That's OK, I knew it anyways."

"Right." I nodded. Of course he knew who I was. His parents are best friends with Charlie.

"Well, I see you've met Edward." My dad said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Sure did." I replied smiling.

"That's great." The rest of the family walked into the room.

"Hi dear." Esme said as she walked up to me and gave me a hug. I had met Carlisle and Esme before; I just never met their children.

"Hi. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine dear, how about you?"

"I'm also fine."

"Hi Bella." Carlisle said from across the room. I smiled and nodded towards him. "I would like to introduce you to my family. "This is Alice, Jasper, Rose, Emmet, and Edward." He said as he pointed to each member. They all smiled kindly towards me.

"Hey, it's nice to meet all of you."

"You too." They all replied.

"So, Charlie, what's on the menu for tonight?" Carlisle asked.

"Well, I attempted to cook, but it didn't go too well, so I ordered a pizza, I hope that's alright with everyone."

"Of course that's fine, right guys?" Carlisle asked while looking at his family.

"Yes, Charlie that will be just fine." Esme replied. Everyone else just nodded.

"Oh good, it should be here any time now."

"How have things been at the police station?" Carlisle asked Charlie.

"Pretty slow, but it's a nice break."

"Yeah, it's been a pretty crazy summer, hasn't it?"

"Most definitely." Charlie replied.

Carlisle and Charlie continued to talk about work for quite some time, while the rest of us just stood there listening, none of us knowing what to say to break the ice. Finally the door bell rang.

"I'll get it." I said, happy to have a distraction.

"Here Bells." Charlie handed me the money, and I headed off to the front door.

A tall boy with dark hair stood at the door with the pizza in his hands. His eyes seemed to pop out of his head when he saw me, and I tried my best not to blush.

"Well, hello." He said.

"Hi, how much will it be?" I asked rather shyly.

"Free." He smiled brightly, although he looked kind of creepy in my opinion.

"Excuse me?" I replied, thoroughly confused.

"It's free." He said again, still smiling.

"Would you please just tell me how much it is?"

"You don't have to pay…if you go out with me." He replied, smiling cockily.

"Umm…" I stuttered I didn't even know what to say, and then all of a sudden there was an arm around my waist.

"Is there a problem babe?" I looked up to see Edward looking at me kindly. I didn't get it right away, but then he smiled at me, and it all clicked. He was saving me.

"He won't tell me how much I owe him." I said while looking at Edward.

"How much is the pizza?" Edward asked finally looking away from me.

"Twenty five buckaroos." The boy said, his big grin disappearing from his face. I handed the boy the money, and just as I was closing the door he spoke.

"Don't worry; I'll come back for you."

"Don't count on it." Edward responded to him, and with that I closed the door. I turned to Edward.

"Thank you so much." He removed his arm from my waist, shrugged, and smiled.

"You seemed trapped."

"Yeah, I was. I really appreciate you jumping in."

"Anytime."

"Yay! Food's here!" Alice squealed as we walked into the kitchen.

XxXxXxX

_Later that night, cleaning up with Charlie:_

"So, did you like the Cullen's?" Charlie asked me, as he wiped down the counter.

"Yeah. They are all really nice."

"I thought it would be nice if you started hanging out with the kids, then you would know people when you start school."

"I don't want to impose on them."

"I don't think you would be." Charlie said.

"Well, you aren't a teenager."

"That's true, but I wouldn't worry too much, you are spending the night at their house this weekend."

"Excuse me?" Was he serious? He planned this without even asking me?

"I'm going fishing with Billy, and I know you can fend for yourself, but I would feel better if you stayed with someone, and you know that I'm good friends with Carlisle and Esme. So will you stay with them?" I took a deep breath, and let it out.

"Fine." I replied calmly. After all I did enjoy dinner with them.

"Good. I can finish up down here." Charlie said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Well I'm going to bed then. Goodnight."

"Night."

**A/N: Alright so that was the first chapter. What did ya think? I promise it will pick up! **

**Review please!**

**Shelby**


	2. Night at the Cullen's

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. It's the property of Ms. Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 2: Weekend at the Cullen's 

_Alice's Point of View:_

I pulled up to Charlie's house at nine in the morning the day after meeting Bella. She seemed really quiet, but super nice. This weekend is going to be fun, I just know it. I got out of the car and danced up to the door, before I even got a chance to ring the doorbell Charlie opened the door, and pulled me into a hug.

"Hey Alice!"

"Hi Charlie, um could ya loosen the grip a bit."

"Oh yeah, sorry."

"Not a problem. Is Bella ready to go?"

"Just about, she'll be down in a second. Thank you so much for letting her stay with you and your family."

"Oh it's not a problem. We all want to get to know Bella better anyway." Charlie smiled.

"Thanks for giving her a chance; she's really a very good person."

"I know Charlie." I replied smiling.

"Hi." Bella said as she appeared in the room with her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hey Bella, ya ready to go?"

"Yup." Charlie walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"Have fun."

"I will." Bella walked towards me, and we both headed out the door. Once we were in the car we didn't really say much, and the silence was awkward.

"Do you like to play games?" I finally asked.

"Yeah. Games are fun."

"We'll probably play some games at the house then. Or we could watch movies; we have a pretty awesome theater."

"Cool."

"Yeah." I replied, and then there was more silence.

"I'm sorry I'm so quiet, I'm just not really sure what to say, I'm pretty nervous."

"Oh that's ok. I'm sure after this weekend things will be less awkward." She smiled kindly at me.

"What do you like to do in your spare time?" I asked her.

"Um, I read for the most part."

"That's cool. I think you'll get along well with Edward. Out of everyone in the family he's definitely the reader. Although he's probably more into music, but he still reads a lot too."

"Does he play any instruments?"

"Yeah, Edward plays the piano. He's amazing at it."

"Cool."

"We'll have to make him play something so that you can hear him. I think you will be blown away. Do you play any instruments?" I was happy to finally have some sort of topic we could expand on.

"No, I'm not musically talented."

"Ah, me neither. What would you say is your talent?"

"Falling." She mumbled, and I barely heard her.

"Falling?" I questioned.

"I'm a klutz. I'm always falling, or tripping, or walking into things."

"Oh, got it." I replied. We talked for several minutes about her favorite things and my favorite things, and before I knew it we were at the house.

"Well, we're here."

"Wow, your house is amazing!" Bella stated.

"Thanks. We like it."

"I can see why."

"We're here." I called out as we walked in the door. Moments later everyone appeared in the room, and said hello to Bella.

"Emmett, why don't you take Bella's bag and put it in the guest room?" Carlisle said.

"Sure thing." Emmett replied.

"What does everyone want to do?" Rose asked.

"Let's play a game." Offered Esme.

"Sounds good to me." I replied. "Bella?"

"Yeah, that's fine." She replied.

"What should we play?" Jasper asked.

"What are we doing?" Emmett said as he came down the stairs.

"Playing a game." Rose replied.

"Ooooh what game?" He asked happily.

"We haven't decided yet."

"How about two truths and a lie." I suggested.

"No!" Edward stated.

"Why not?" I complained.

"You know why not. It's not fun to play with you."

"Well…it's not fun to play it with you either, but that doesn't stop us."

"Alice, we play that game all the time, I think our family already knows all the truths and lies, Bella would be the only one who wouldn't."

"Fine, we can play something else." I replied.

"Bella, dear, is there something you want to play?" Esme asked her.

"I don't really care what we play, I like most games."

"How about Monopoly?" Emmett suggested.

"That's fine with me." Edward replied.

"Me too." I agreed. Everyone else agreed, and we pulled out Monopoly.

"There's only six pieces though." Rose pointed out.

"You kids play, your father and I are going to go sit outside on the patio."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Have fun." Carlisle said.

_Bella's Point of View: _

After about an hour of play, all of the property was bought, and most of them had hotels on them. Every side of the board was basically a death trap.

"Woo!" Jasper yelled. I was startled and looked to see why he was so excited. He had just hit free parking, and let me just say, free parking was very full. Alice leaned over and kissed his cheek. I thought that was weird, and it must have shown on my face, because Edward leaned over, and whispered in my ear.

"I'm guessing you didn't know they are married." I shook my head no. "So are Emmett and Rose."

"Aren't they siblings?" I whispered back.

"No, Carlisle and Esme just treat them like they are their own." I nodded, and luckily it seemed that nobody had noticed Edward and I whispering, well that is until Emmett spoke up.

"Are you two strategizing over there?" He pointed his finger at us.

"No." I replied a little too excitedly.

"Good, because that's not allowed." I took a deep breath, and hoped that the whispering would be forgotten, and it was.

We played for at least another two hours.

"Why don't we go watch a movie? This game will never end." Alice said.

"What do you mean, it will never end? Bella is already out." Emmett pointed out.

"Exactly, which is more reason to do something else; she has to be bored just watching us."

Truth was, I wasn't bored at all. I enjoyed watching them, it was funny. They all got along like most siblings do. They bickered, but it was all out of love. You could tell they weren't really mad at each other.

"Well, let's clean up, and we can go a watch a movie, like Alice suggested." Rose said. Everyone nodded, and started putting the game away.

"To the theater!" Emmett bellowed, raising his arm, and pointing in the direction we would have to go. Everyone laughed, and stood up.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed quietly. Their theater was truly amazing.

"What should we watch?" Jasper asked.

"Horror!" Emmett exclaimed.

"You always want to watch horror films." Rose pouted.

"Yeah, and we never do." He replied.

"Bella, do you want to watch a horror movie?" Alice asked me.

"It doesn't really matter to me."

"So does that mean we can watch a horror film?" Emmett was bouncing up and down he was so excited.

"Yes." Everyone said.

"Let's watch…Scream." Emmett suggested.

"Fine." Rose moaned.

I sat down on the couch and got comfortable while Emmett got the movie ready.

"Does anyone want something?" Alice asked. Everyone shook their heads no, and then the movie started.

Rose was cuddled into Emmett's side on the couch, Alice was leaning on Jasper on the opposite side of the couch, and Edward was sitting near me. Every time something scary happened the girls would latch on to their respective mate, and I would just sit there, clutching my knees close to my chest, and try to scream. When the movie was over, we all decided to go to bed, and Alice walked me to the guest room.

"Here we are." Alice claimed. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I think I'm good, thanks though."

"Sure, there's a bathroom connected, just walk through the closet, and you'll see it." Alice explained and then left.

I changed into my pajamas and then got into bed. I fell asleep instantly, but I ended up having a horrible nightmare, and when I woke up it was windy outside, and the tree branch was hitting the window, making me even more scared. I reached over to the bedside table, and turned on the lamp. Just breathe, I kept telling myself, but it wasn't helping. I decided to go downstairs to the kitchen to get something to drink.

As I entered the kitchen I saw Edward sitting at the table.

"Oh!" I said startled.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, smiling slightly.

"Bad dream. You?"

"I like sitting in here when it's storming out."

"Ah. Well I just came down to get some water." He instantly stood up and went to the cupboard, and grabbed a glass. He walked over the refrigerator.

"Do you want ice?"

"Oh, no thank you." He filled the glass with water.

"Here ya go."

"Thank you."

"Sure." I turned to go back up to bed, because I felt awkward, as if I interrupted him.

"You know you can stay down here if you want to…I mean you don't have too, but…"

"OK." I sat down across from him, and sipped my water.

"I'm guessing you don't really like scary movies, huh?"

"Yeah, they aren't really my strong point."

"I think scary movies were just made for couples."

"What?" I asked laughing.

"Well, think about it, the girl gets scared, and she latches onto her boyfriend. It's the perfect scenario for the guy." I just kept laughing.

"Yeah, I guess your right." I agreed.

"So, what type of movies do you usually watch?" He asked.

"Mostly movies that make me laugh." I finished off my cup of water.

"Do you want more?"

"No thanks. I think I'm going to try to go back to sleep."

"Alright."

"Thanks for talking to me, I think it calmed me down." I said as I left the kitchen.

"Always glad to help." He replied.

I went back upstairs and fell asleep instantly.

**A/N: So that was chapter two. Review please.**

**Shelby**


	3. Makeover and Lunch

**Disclaimer: The characters and storyline belong to Ms. Stephenie Meyer. I just added some different stuff.**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 3: Makeover and Lunch

_Bella's Point of View: _

When I woke up the next morning, I went directly to the bathroom and got dressed. Once I was finished I went downstairs to the kitchen to find the whole family sitting at the table, talking to each other about this and that.

"Oh good morning dear. Did you sleep well?" Esme asked.

"I did. Thank you so much for letting me stay with you."

"Of course dear, you are welcome to stay here any time you like."

"Well I appreciate that." Esme smiled kindly towards me.

"Charlie called; he's on his way home. He decided to cut the trip a little short. The fish weren't biting, but you are more than welcome to stay here again tonight, like what we planned." Carlisle said.

"As much as I appreciate the offer, and would love to stay here, I think I should probably get home. Charlie doesn't do well when fending for himself." I explained.

"Ah, you mean the whole cooking thing." Carlisle stated, and the family started cracking up.

"Yeah, pretty much." I smiled.

"Well would you at least like to stay until lunch?" Carlisle offered.

"I suppose I could do that."

"I would hope so, it's already ten thirty. Even if you stay until lunch that's not very long. Can I do your makeup?" Alice was practically jumping out of her seat with excitement.

"Um…"

"Alice, leave the poor girl alone." Esme scolded.

"But she didn't say no." Alice replied.

"And she didn't say yes either." Esme replied kindly.

"It's OK, if you want to do my makeup, you can." I didn't really feel like having a makeover, but Alice wanted to do it, and I liked her, and wanted to be her friend, so why not?

"Follow me!" Alice said triumphantly. I stood up and followed Alice upstairs and to her bathroom.

"Sit." She instructed. "Please." She added.

I sat down on the big comfy chair in front of a huge mirror.

"Are you wearing that all day?" Alice asked me.

"Um…I planned on it." I replied, unsure of where she was going with that question.

"That's fine; I just want your makeup to match your outfit."

"Oh." I responded.

I sat in the seat for what seemed like forever while Alice applied makeup, and then started doing my hair.

"Girls, lunch is ready." Esme said, while walking into the room.

"What do you think?" Alice asked her.

"Wow Bella, you look stunning."

"Thank you." I was sure I was probably blushing, although with the blush that Alice put on me, I wasn't sure it would be noticeable.

"We'll be right down. I just want to add one more touch." Alice told Esme.

"OK." Esme walked out the door, and Alice started rummaging through a drawer.

"Here we go." Alice pulled out a necklace, and placed it around my neck. It was a simple silver chain with a crystal locket hanging at the end.

"It's beautiful." I said.

"You think?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Absolutely."

"Then it's yours."

"Oh, Alice, I couldn't…" I stammered.

"Of course you can. I insist. Please keep it. It looks beautiful on you."

"Thank you so much."

"Sure. Now let's go eat." I stood up and walked down stairs with Alice, and headed into the kitchen.

Alice sat down next to Jasper, and the only open seat was next to Edward.

"You look nice." He said smiling kindly at me.

"Thanks." I replied shyly. He just smiled brighter. Esme placed a large bowl of spaghetti in the middle of the table.

"Dig in." Emmett announced, grabbing his fork excitedly.

"Ladies first." Rose pointed out.

"Actually I think its guests first." Alice pointed out. Everyone looked at me.

"Oh." I replied, and dished myself some spaghetti. Then everyone followed after me.

"Are you nervous about school?" Carlisle asked me in between bites.

"A little bit." I replied. The truth was I was dreading school. I normally liked school, and I didn't have difficultly getting along with people, but my quietness tends to make it hard to make friends.

"That's understandable." Esme stated. I nodded.

"But we'll all be there for ya." Alice claimed happily.

"Thanks." I smiled.

All of a sudden a beeper went off, and Carlisle excused himself from the table to make a phone call. Walking back into the room he said, "Well looks like I'm needed at the hospital. I'm sorry Bella, but I won't be able to take you home."

"That's OK." I replied.

"I can take her." Edward offered.

"That would be great, thanks Edward." Carlisle replied.

"Sure."

**A/N: End of chapter…what did ya think?**

**Review**

**Shelby**


	4. Going Home

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. It all belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 4: Going Home

_Bella's Point of View:_

When Edward offered to take me home, I got a little bit nervous. I wasn't even sure why I was nervous, but I was.

"You ready to go?" Edward asked softly, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Um, yeah, I just have to go grab my bag."

"I'll get it." He said kindly. Before I could protest he was up the stairs, and back in a flash with my things.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." He smiled. His smile was breathtaking…scratch that, he was breathtaking. Was I falling for him? My eyes lingered on him for a moment, and then he started walking towards the door.

"You coming?" He joked.

"Oh, right, yeah." I felt like an idiot. I wonder if he caught me staring at him. I followed him out the door to his car, and he walked to the passenger door and opened it for me. He was such a gentleman.

"Thank you."

"Of course." He smiled radiantly.

"I find I say that to you a lot." I said when he got in the car.

"What's that?"

"Thank you. I'm always telling you thank you." I pointed out.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No. Just something I noticed."

"Ah."

"Yeah." Now I really felt like an idiot. Why did I have to go saying that?

"Did you have fun?" He asked me after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, I did. You're family is amazing."

"I'm glad you think so. They all seem to really like you." What about him? Does he like me too?

"Do you have plans for the rest of your summer?" He asked me.

"Not really. Nothing big anyways. I'll probably just read."

"That's cool. Sometimes it's nice to just relax."

"Yeah, what about you? Do you have any plans for the remainder of the summer?"

"Well, my family goes camping a lot. I think we still have a few more trips before school starts back up. Although even once school starts, we go camping on the weekends."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"I've never been camping before."

"It's fun. You should come with us sometime."

"I'll think about it." We sat in silence for a few minutes.

"It rains a lot here." I pointed out.

"That it does. Do you like the rain?"

"It's OK. I'd like to see some sun though."

"Fair enough." Before I knew it we were at my house, and I realized I wish my home was further away, so that I could spend more time with Edward.

"Thank you for giving me a ride home." I said as I exited the car. Edward got out too, grabbed my bag from me, and walked me to my door.

"Sure. Looks like Charlie's home." He said pointing to the driveway.

"Yeah." I said. I wished I could think of something better to say, but I couldn't. I unlocked the door, took my bag from Edward, and placed it inside. When I turned around, I gave Edward a quick hug. He tensed up, and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Thanks again." I mumbled and then let go of him. I didn't want to meet his eyes, but I looked at them anyways. He had a calm smile on his face.

"Again, you are most welcome. I'll see ya around." And with that he walked back to his car, and I shut the door.

_Edward's Point of View: _

After Bella shut the door, I released a breath that I didn't realize I had been holding. She hugged me, and I felt like she let go too soon. This wasn't good. I was falling for a human. It could really mess things up for my family, but I couldn't help the feelings I felt for her, and I couldn't possibly stay away from her. Charlie's my parents' best friend, and she'll be going to school with me. I took a deep breath and put the key in the ignition. Just as I was about to back out, I heard a loud piercing scream.

It was Bella's scream.

**A/N: End of chapter. Thoughts? Opinions? Sorry my chapters have been so short, I'll try to start making them longer. **

**Review.**

**Shelby**


	5. Charlie

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 5: Charlie

_Edward's Point of View: _

After I heard Bella scream I quickly jumped out of my car and raced to the door. Luckily she hadn't locked it, and I was able to push it open.

"Bella!" I called out as I searched the house. Then I saw her. She was kneeling on the ground next to Charlie, and she was trembling. I raced over to the two of them and got down beside Bella. Before I did anything else I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called 911, then I called Carlisle.

"Does he have a pulse?" Carlisle asked as calmly as he possible could.

"I don't know." I responded starting to panic.

"Well check." I could hear Carlisle's impatience, so I quickly placed my fingers to Charlie's neck.

"I can't find one." I responded quietly.

"Did you call 911?" I could hear movement in the background.

"Yes. Are you still at the hospital?"

"Yes. The paramedics will probably bring him here. Is Bella ok?" Carlisle asked. I looked over to Bella. She was more pale than usual, and her body was shaking badly.

"I don't think so."

"Edward, I need you to take care of her right now. I don't need anything happening to her. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, but what about Charlie?" I asked still completely worried.

"There's nothing you can do for Charlie, we just have to hope he hasn't died yet, and that he can make it to the hospital."

"What do you think happened?"

"I'm guessing he had a heart attack, but I won't know for sure until I see him."

"Would that kill him?" I noticed Bella flinch as I said the word 'kill', and I instantly regretted it.

"There's a good possibility that yes, it could have killed him. But let's not jump to conclusions. Now is it just me or am I hearing sirens in the background?"

"Oh the paramedics are here."

"Make sure you know where they are taking Charlie, they should be coming here, but just make sure to check, and take care of Bella…ok?"

"Yeah ok."

"Be strong Edward." With that I hung up the phone, and the paramedics rushed in the door.

"You two will have to move." A big man said as he approached us with a stretcher. I stood up getting out of the way, but Bella wasn't moving.

"Miss, you really need to move." A woman said walking through the door with a bag of equipment. But Bella just continued to sit there, not responding at all. Quickly I kneeled down to her, and picked her up off the floor. I placed her on the couch.

"I'll be right back, ok?" I asked her, but she didn't respond. I walked back to the kitchen where Charlie and the paramedics were, but before I left the living room, I turned to look at Bella. She looked completely numb. I'd have to deal with that next.

"What hospital will you be taking him to?" I asked, happy to see that they were getting ready to leave with him. That meant he hadn't died yet, right?

"We're taking him to Forks General." The big man replied.

"Ok." With that they lifted the stretcher and walked out of the house with him. A third paramedic walked into the house.

"Will you be riding in the ambulance with us?" She asked quickly. I turned my head to look towards the living room where I knew Bella was sitting.

"No. Thank you though." I responded quickly.

She turned her heel quickly and got in the ambulance. The sirens went on and then they were gone.

I shut the front door and turned to walk towards the living room. Bella looked exactly the same as she had when I left her.

"We should go to the hospital." I said quietly, standing next to her.

"He's going to be fine." She said without much determination. "Tell me he's going to be fine." She looked up at me, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Bella…" I started, but I couldn't tell her he would be fine, when I didn't know, and I honestly didn't think he would be fine. I'm no doctor, but I know how to search for a pulse. When I didn't finish my sentence she stood up, and grabbed my collar angrily.

"Tell me he's going to be fine." She said angrily, but I knew she was just hurting.

"I can't." She started pounding her fists against my chest.

"No no no no." She cried. I wrapped my arms around her slender body tightly, and after a few moments she stopped pounding my chest, and just started crying. I wished I could do more, but I didn't know what to do.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" I asked her after several moments.

"I don't know if I can." She replied quietly into my chest.

"I'll be there with you. I promise I won't leave you." I hoped that would reassure her, but I didn't really know what she thought of me. After several seconds, that seemed like years to me, she nodded her yes, and I pulled her away from my chest, and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. We walked out to the car, and I opened her door.

The ride to the hospital was filled with complete silence.

"You ready?" I asked as I parked the car.

"You'll stay with me?" She asked shakily.

"I promise." I responded boldly. She nodded her head slowly, and got out of the car. I quickly jumped out as well, and walked next to her. I wasn't sure if I should put my arm around her, or hold her hand, so I just stayed close.

As we walked through the revolving doors, I saw Carlisle talking to some of the nurses. He didn't look good. In fact he looked extremely sad and distraught. I couldn't remember ever seeing him like that. It couldn't be good. Carlisle looked over to us, and pulled me in with his eyes.

"Why don't we go sit in the nurse's lounge?" Carlisle suggested. He's dead, I just know it. Carlisle wouldn't make us go in there if Charlie was ok.

Bella and I followed Carlisle into the lounge and sat down.

"Bella…" Carlisle started, but it seemed he couldn't go on, that is, until he finally did. "This is extremely hard for me to tell you…but Charlie…Bella he didn't make it." Carlisle finally spit it out. Shock ran through my body as I realized that my family's close friend was really dead, but I quickly remembered that this was Bella's father, and looked over at her. She was shaking her head no viciously.

"I don't believe you." She finally said angrily. She stood up and started for the door.

"Bella I'm sorry, but I'm not pulling your leg. Your father suffered a massive heart attack, and we were unable to get to him fast enough." Carlisle explained.

"No!" Bella yelled, and then ran out the door. Carlisle looked at me for help.

"She seems to like you. Go after her." How could he possibly know that after so little time? I didn't bother to ask him though; I just nodded and raced out the door after her.

"Bella!" I called out, but I didn't see her anywhere. Finally I spotted her. She was outside running through the parking lot, but I wasn't sure where she was heading, just back towards the forest. I ran far too quickly for a human, but not at my full speed towards her.

All of a sudden a truck pulled out. Bella screamed.

"Bella!" I yelled, as I picked up my pace, and continued to run towards her, trying to save her from being hit by the truck, and turning into a pancake.

**A/N: End of chapter. Ok so Bella might be a little OOC in this chapter, but I wrote it how I wanted it. **

**Review please!**

**Shelby**


	6. The Big Red Truck

**A/N: Just want to clear something up…the Cullen's are vampires. It hasn't come into play so much yet because Bella doesn't know right now. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything affiliated with it or Mrs. Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

The Big Red Truck

_Edward's Point of View:_

I kept running to Bella as the red truck continued to get closer to her. Everything was happening too quickly and I wasn't sure if I could save her without revealing that I was a vampire. However, I couldn't allow Bella to be harmed, so I picked up my pace even more and threw myself into Bella, pushing her down to the ground and then rolling her out of the way of the truck.

Once I was sure she was out of the trucks way I stared down at her trembling form. Her arm was bleeding, and I wasn't sure if I could handle the alluring scent of her blood, but I knew I had to, so I held my breath. She also had a rather large gash on her forehead, and I knew she would need stitches.

"Are you ok?" I asked her. She didn't respond, she just closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath. I gave her a few moments and then asked her again.

"I don't know." She replied finally.

"Let me take you in to see Carlisle." I said, and I started to pick her up.

"Please don't. I can't go back in there." She said starting to cry. I had to admit at least to myself, I had forgotten that Charlie died. I had been so wrapped up in trying to save Bella from the truck that it slipped my mind.

"Bella, you really need to get that cut on your forehead cleaned up." I told her as kindly as I could.

"I'll take care of it when I get home." She started to walk back towards the forest, but I quickly grabbed her arm, the one that wasn't bleeding.

"First of all, that's not the direction of your house. Second of all, I'm your friend, I care about you, and I'm not letting you go anywhere until someone looks at that cut." I said firmly, and the tears started falling excessively. Great, had I really just made things worse?

"Bella, I'm sorry." I said quickly, and sincerely.

"Don't…be…you didn't…do anything…wrong." She said while crying. I pulled her closer to me, and when she didn't fight the closeness, I pulled her into a hug. Having her so close to me was difficult, but yet I couldn't let her go and I knew I couldn't hurt her. I just hoped that she wouldn't notice the hardness of my body, but she hadn't noticed the first time I hugged her. Maybe that was because she was traumatized though. She would still be though, right? Slowly I pulled away from her, and started to lead her into the hospital.

"Don't leave." She said quietly, so quietly that I almost hadn't heard her.

"I won't, I promise." She nodded gratefully at me, as the tears continued to fall down her face.

"What happened?" Carlisle exclaimed as he came running towards us.

"Bella almost got hit by a car." I explained.

"Almost?" Carlisle raised his eyebrow at me.

"Edward pushed me out of the way." Bella sniffled.

"Oh." Carlisle replied. "Well let's get your cuts cleaned up. That one on your forehead will need stitches."

"Please no. Can't I just put a band-aid on it?" Bella pleaded, more tears filling in her eyes.

"Bella you really need the stitches." Carlisle said.

"Can you knock me out?" She asked, and the thing is, she was serious.

"We don't normally do that." Carlisle said. "You'll be ok, we numb the spot first."

"Yeah, with a needle." Bella said.

"It will be ok." Carlisle said, as he began cleaning Bella's arm with rubbing alcohol. "This cut we can wrap in gauze, and it should be fine."

"Can we wrap my head in gauze?" Bella asked. I had to try not to chuckle. The thought of Bella's head wrapped in gauze because of one cut was rather amusing to me, but now was not the time to be laughing at such things.

"If you want we can…after I do the stitches." Carlisle said, and Bella took a deep breath, giving up the fight.

"Fine, no gauze." She sniffled.

"Alright, I'll be right back; I need to get a suture kit." Carlisle said.

"It'll be over before you know it." I told Bella trying to comfort her.

"No it won't." Bella mumbled.

"Carlisle works pretty quickly." I added.

"It's not just the stitches." She said, looking at me seriously, tears rolling down her cheeks. I wanted nothing more than to pull her into a hug, but I still wasn't sure what our relationship was.

"I know." Was all I said, and then Carlisle walked back into the room.

"Well, ya ready Bells?" Carlisle asked, and then Bella started balling. My eyes widened in shock, and I was holding her in my arms before I knew it.

"My dad…used to call…me that." She cried. I looked up to Carlisle who had a sad expression on his face. He obviously felt bad for using the name that Charlie used.

"Bella, I'm so sorry." Carlisle said from across the room.

"I can't do this." She said, pulling herself out of my arms.

"Bella, I need to stitch your head." Carlisle told her as she started walking out the door.

"Not now." She exclaimed, and rushed out of the room. I went after her, the last time she ran out of a room, she was almost killed by a truck. I didn't have to go far. She was right outside the door, sitting on the ground with her knees pulled to her chest, and her head buried in her knees. I sat down next to her and rubbed her back for several minutes.

"If you get the stitches I can take you home." I said quietly.

"I don't want to go home. It will just make things worse." She sniffled.

"I thought you were running home…but would you like to come to my house?" I asked her.

She just nodded in response.

"Can you please let Carlisle stitch your forehead now?" She nodded sadly, and stood up. I placed my hand on the small of her back, and led her into the room.

"Ok, you can do it now." She told Carlisle sadly as she sat down.

Carlisle stuck a needle in her forehead to numb the area, and she shut her eyes tightly in pain. I reached for her hand, but Carlisle shook his head no. I picked through his thoughts to find out why.

_Your hand is too hard, she'll notice the difference._

"I've touched her before, she didn't seem to notice." I said in vampire speed. Carlisle just gave me a look.

I didn't grab her hand, but all I could think was she hadn't figured it out yet, but maybe she had, and she just didn't say anything.

Carlisle worked quickly and stitched up her head. He patted her leg gently when he was done.

"All set." She opened her eyes, and more tears slipped out.

"I'm going to take her home with me." I told Carlisle. "She doesn't need to check out or anything does she?" I asked.

"No, she's all set."

"Thanks." She told Carlisle.

"Sure. I'll see you two kids later." He responded, and then we left, and headed for my car.

**A/N: Thoughts? Opinions? Love it? Hate it? Let me know **

**Review please!**

**Shelby**


	7. Not Alone

**A/N: Hey everybody!!! Just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews they mean a ton! Also I know a lot of people are mad that I killed Charlie, but that was in my plans from the beginning! Hope everyone keeps reading!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Woo go me! It's all the lovely Miss Meyer's!**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 7: Not Alone

_Bella's Point of View:_

While Edward was driving us to his home I felt numb. I wasn't feeling anything. No pain, just extreme tiredness. All I wanted to do was sleep, and sleep some more. Maybe when I woke up all of this would be gone, and Charlie would still be alive. But I knew that wouldn't happen. I didn't feel like dealing with things, I just wanted to sleep, and not wake up.

"We're here." Edward announced, and I jumped.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He apologized. I shook my head.

"No, don't worry, I just didn't realize we'd been driving long enough to be back. I was lost in my thoughts." I explained quickly.

"I understand." Slowly he got out of the car, and glanced at me. I just stayed where I was. I don't even know why I didn't move. I wasn't waiting for anything, was I? I was waiting for someone to tell me this was all just a big joke, some sick sick joke, but still just a joke. However no one told me it was a joke. It was all real, far too real. Edward came around to my door and opened it for me. When I still didn't get out he stuck his hand out to me.

I thought for a moment before I grabbed his hand and stood up. I really like Edward, but the timing is so wrong. I feel like I shouldn't be happy to be close with Edward, because the only reason we have been so close is because Charlie died. Plus, was Edward just being nice? Or did he like me as much as I liked him? Life is so confusing. But as I grabbed his hand, relief flooded my body. There was something about him that dulled my pain. I just hoped he wouldn't let go of my hand once I was out of the car.

I stood slowly, and once I was out I straightened out my shirt.

"Does everyone know?" I asked, while I played with the hem of my shirt.

"Yes." Edward replied quietly.

"Good." I said, and then we walked hand in hand up to the door. Edward put his hand on the doorknob to open the door.

"Wait." I said. He stopped turning the knob and looked at me. "Can I ask you a favor?" I questioned quietly.

"Of course." He replied sweetly. I noticed that he always used a kind tone with me.

"When we go inside, can I just go lay down?" I asked.

"Sure, but how is that a favor from me?" He asked, looking slightly confused.

"I was hoping…well I was hoping that maybe you could keep your family from talking to me…I just…I just don't feel like talking about things right now."

"Sure Bella. I'll keep them from talking to you."

"Thank you." I said quietly. He nodded.

"Are you ready to go in?" This time I nodded. He opened the door, and I was slightly surprised that none of his family was standing around.

"Do you need anything to eat or drink? Or would you just like to go lay down?"

"I just want to lie down." Edward nodded, and led me upstairs, and into the guest bedroom.

I walked all the way in and Edward lingered at the door. I sat down on the bed, so that my back was facing Edward. All of a sudden I was hit with a wave of sadness, and I started to cry. Edward was by my side in seconds holding me in his strong arms.

"Shh baby." He whispered in my ear, trying to comfort me, and it was working.

_Edward's Point of View: _

Had I really just called her baby? I wonder what the family is going to think. I couldn't help it though, it just came out, and it fit. The only thing I could think to ask was "What's wrong?" But I didn't, because that seemed like a really stupid question.

"I feel…so alone." Bella cried into my shoulder.

"Awe…" I almost said sweetie, but I figured I should cool it a bit right now. "You aren't alone. There are so many people who love you, and I'm not going to leave you." She looked up at me.

"Do you promise?" She asked, tears still falling from her eyes.

"Yes. I promise." She smiled slightly at me, it wasn't a bright smile, but it was the best she could pull off at the moment.

"You look tired. You've had a long day. You should try to get some sleep." I told her. She nodded her head, and I stood up to leave her, but she looked like she had something to say, yet she wasn't sure if she should.

"Edward…" She started, she looked nervous.

"Yeah?" I asked softly.

"Will you lay with me?" I didn't reply right away. I wanted to lay with her, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. "You don't have to." She added quickly when I didn't respond, which made me feel awful.

"No, I'll lay with you." I told her, I wasn't sure if it was the right choice, but it seemed like the only choice to me.

Bella lied down, and got comfortable, then I placed myself on the other side of the bed, keeping some distance between us.

"Thanks…I just didn't want to be alone."

"It's not a problem." I told her, and she flipped over so that her back was facing me. I watched intently, hoping that she was asleep. She deserved some peace. I don't think her day could have been any worse.

I don't know how long we had been laying there when my phone started vibrating. I looked at the caller id, and realized it was a call coming from Charlie's house. Who would be calling from Charlie's? And how would they have my number?

I slowly got off the bed, trying not to disturb Bella, and walked out the door, then answered my phone.

"Hello?"

"Edward, its Alice. I left my cell somewhere…hopefully at home, but I really don't know." She spit out quickly.

"Well hello to you too." I replied. "Why are you at Charlie's?"

"I came to pick up some stuff for Bella. But I didn't know if there were certain things she needed…"

"She's asleep right now, and I'm not going to wake her up just to find out what she needs from home."

"Good, I wouldn't want you to. I'll just grab lots of stuff. How long do you think she'll be staying with us?" Alice asked me.

"I don't really know."

"I think Carlisle and Esme will ask her to move in with us." Alice said.

"You think, or you know?" I joked with her.

"Well they haven't made a final decision yet. I mean with us being…well us, it could be hard to have a human living with us."

"Yeah." I said.

"Edward…can I ask you something?" Alice asked carefully.

"Don't you already know the answer?" I mocked.

"Actually I don't, you haven't been very open with your plans. It's like you aren't making a choice on purpose…to hide it from me."

"Alice, what do you want to know?" I was worried about what she was going to ask, and I had a feeling it had to do with Bella.

"Do you want to be with Bella?"

"Alice…"

"Edward answer the question."

"It wouldn't work." I stated simply.

"That wasn't what I asked you Edward. I asked you if you wanted to be with her." Alice pointed out. I didn't respond.

"Edward? Edward? Did you hang up on me? EDWARD!"

"I want to be with her." I said quietly.

"I knew it!" Alice cheered. "You two are so cute together!"

"Alice there's so many problems with us though."

"So, those things will all work out." She assured me.

"Alice, the timing is all wrong." I pointed out.

"No it's not! It's perfect. Edward she needs someone to be there for her. Someone strong that she can depend on, and she could depend on you."

"Yeah, but then it's like we got together because I was being nice and comforting her in her time of need."

"So what, the two of you would have ended up together eventually. I just know it." All of a sudden I heard a noise.

"Alice, I have to go, I think I Bella just woke up."

"Why don't you find…" But I hung up and didn't hear the end of the conversation. I didn't want Bella to wake up and not see me, I told her I would stay with her, and I was determined to stick to that.

**A/N: I almost went further with this chapter, but I simply don't have the time, and I'm not sure when I would be able to work on it again, so I just left it here. Hope you enjoyed.**

**Review please!  
**

**Shelby**


	8. When Realization Hits

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 8: When Realization Hits

_Edward's Point of View: _

I reentered the room quickly, hoping that Bella hadn't woken up and found me missing. Luckily she hadn't. I must of have heard something else. I looked out the window to see a bird sitting on the branch right outside the window. I chuckled lightly to myself realizing that I had only heard the bird chirping. I found my spot back on the bed, and relaxed a bit, while I waited for Bella to wake up. Hopefully she was sleeping peacefully. She truly deserved the sleep. 

I started thinking about things as I gazed at the wall ten feet in front of me. There was a painting that hung on the wall, and the way it was placed I felt like it was staring directly at me, like it was trying to tell me something. Now I just sound insane…a painting, trying to tell me something? Wow I feel like an idiot. But as I looked at the painting again, I realized that it had a lot of meaning behind it. 

All art of course has some form of meaning to it. A lot of the time I figure out the meaning quickly and sometimes it takes me a while. I stared at the painting for two hours, and I still couldn't place my finger on the meaning. Finally I pulled my eyes away, and glanced at Bella. She didn't look peaceful like she had the other night. No, she looked restless, like she was having a nightmare. All of a sudden it all clicked, and I understood the painting, and I looked at it again. 

The painting had harsh, dark colors, yet the lines were smooth, and soft. There was an eerie feeling to it. There was a large, elegant bed sitting in the ocean. It was storming outside, and the waves were large. Sitting on the middle of the bed was a girl, a girl who was holding onto the bed for life. Although she was hanging onto the bed as if she may fall off at any moment and lose her life, her face showed no emotion. There was nothing there. No worry, no fright, just a numb look, a numb look which reminded Edward of Bella. It was the way Bella had looked when they returned home. This painting was about a girl who had lost so much, that her life didn't hold the same meaning to her anymore. It was like the girl cared enough to hold on, but not enough to really be afraid. 

I placed my gaze back on Bella, and hoped that Bella wasn't feeling the way the girl in the painting was. Slowly Bella's arm started to move, and she rolled over, placing her arm across my chest. I held my breath for a moment, and released it when I realized she hadn't woken up yet. 

There was a gentle tap on the door that pulled me from my thoughts, and then the door swung open gently, revealing Esme. 

"How is she?" She whispered. 

"She's still asleep." Esme nodded. 

"Can I bring you anything?" She asked, still whispering. 

"No, I'm good, thank you." She nodded her head and turned to leave. "Esme, wait." She quickly turned around to look at me. "What's that painting called?" I asked while pointing to the wall. 

"Calm During the Storm." I nodded my head. "My great great grandmother painted it." She added. 

"Really?" I asked slightly surprised. Esme just nodded, and then walked out. 

Bella continued to sleep for the next several hours with her arm splayed across my chest. I liked having her arm there, it felt right. 

"Wow! She's still asleep?" Alice exclaimed as she walked into the room. I quickly held my finger to my lips, warning her to be quiet. 

"Sorry I just thought she would be up by now." 

"She's had a long day, I'm glad she's still sleeping." 

"Yeah I guess. Here's her stuff. I'm going now; I don't like talking so quietly." Alice smiled, and then turned to leave, but before she walked out the door she turned back to me.

"You two look very cute." And with that she left the room. I couldn't help but smile at her words. Suddenly Bella started to move her head around, and slowly her eyes opened. She immediately noticed her arm on my chest, and pulled it away.

"Sorry." She said quickly, looking embarrassed. 

"It's alright." I said kindly. "How'd you sleep?" 

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, ok I guess." I just nodded. 

"Can I get you anything?" 

"No. I don't need anything, thank you." She replied groggily. She started to stand up.

"You know you can lie around if you want to." She nodded sadly.

"I can't stay here forever." She said. The way her words came out it seemed like she wanted to stay here forever. 

"You can stay right now." I said, I wanted to tell her she could stay forever, but I wasn't the person who could give her that option. That was up to Carlisle and Esme. 

"Thanks." She nodded slowly and sat back down on the bed. 

"What am I going to do?" She whispered. I wasn't even sure if she was talking to me, or if she was just talking to herself. 

I stood up, and walked over to her side. I kneeled down in front of her, and placed my hands on her knees. 

"Hey." I said, and she raised her head to look at me. "I'm always going to be here for you. No matter what." Tears started to trickle down the sides of her face, and I quickly wiped them away with my thumbs. 

"Why are you so nice to me?" Bella asked. How could I answer that without giving the full truth? 

"Because I care a lot about you." I responded, still looking her in the eye. 

"I don't even know where I'm going to live. There's no way I can afford Charlie's house, and I don't want to go back to my mom." 

"No?" 

"I love her, but she needs to live her life, and learn to take care of herself. Plus she has Phil now. And I kind of like it here. It's new and different, but I like it…" She trailed off. 

"Is there another reason you want to stay here?" I asked.

"Yes." She responded shortly. 

"Are you going to tell me that other reason?" 

"Well…" 

_Bella's Point of View:_

Why did I have to tell him there was another reason? I could have just ended it, but no, I had to be honest and tell him there was another reason. I had two choices, make up a lie, or be bold and tell him the truth. Tell him I liked him. 

"Yeah?" Edward pushed, wanting an answer from me. Suddenly I realized how close he was to me, and the way his hands felt on my knees. All of a sudden I wanted nothing more than to kiss him. I hadn't felt that way…well ever. Slowly I moved closer to him. He didn't back away, he looked enticed. I placed my lips gently to Edward's and let them linger for a moment, and then I pulled away. He looked shocked. 

"You." I said quietly, and lowered my head. 

"Wow." He said. Was that a good wow, or a bad wow? I didn't want to raise my head to face him. I didn't want to see his expression. I don't think I could take it if he rejected the idea. 

Suddenly his lips were on mine again, and all too quickly they were gone again. Edward placed his hands on my cheeks forcing me to look at him. 

"So you would stay here…for me?" He questioned. I nodded my head, and for the first time I realized his hands were cold. Extremely cold, but it felt good on my skin. 

"Do you really want to stay here?" He asked me, as if needing reassurance. I thought for a moment, knowing that this answer probably meant a lot. Did I really want to live here? In this rainy place? 

"Yes. I want to stay here." I said. "Your family is here, and even though I don't know your siblings very well, I know your parents, and I love them, and I'm sure I'm going to love the rest of your family." 

"Well, we'll do what we have to then to keep you here." He said smiling lightly. "You're going to be ok." He told me, and at that moment I felt positive that he was right. 

**A/N: What do you think? It's probably going to be a while before an update, unless I can whip up a chapter tomorrow, but I really doubt it. I'm leaving town on Sunday for a week, so yeah…**

**Review please!  
Shelby**


	9. Talking to Carlisle

**Special thanks to JennyPenny1014 for being an awesome beta **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything related to the Twilight series. It's the work of Stephenie Meyer. **

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 9: Talking to Carlisle

_Edward's Point of View: _

Bella likes me, and she wanted to stay here because of ME! I was ecstatic; however I needed to talk to Carlisle about things. I wasn't sure what his thoughts on the situation would be. 

I kissed Bella on the forehead, then sat down next to her, and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into my touch and laid her head on my shoulder. The scent of her blood was driving me crazy, but I couldn't be away from her, and I knew I would never be able to hurt her. 

"Awe don't you two look adorable!" Alice chanted running into the room and hopping on the bed. Bella turned around in shock.

"Jeez you scared me! I didn't even hear you come in." Bella said.

"Sorry…Edward, Carlisle would like to see you in his study." 

"Oh…ok." I knew what this was going to be about, and I wasn't sure if I was nervous or excited to talk to Carlisle, probably nervous though. 

"I'll stay with our lovely Bella." Alice winked at me, and I nodded. 

"I'll be back." I told Bella and then I left. 

I walked quickly down the stairs, and went straight to Carlisle's den. I tapped lightly on the door.

"Come in." I heard Carlisle reply. I opened the door and entered the room.

"Sit Edward." Carlisle said kindly, while pointing to the chair across from him. I took a seat obediently. 

"How is she doing…considering the circumstances?" Carlisle asked me.

"She's sad, but I'm not sure if it's fully hit her yet. She still seems numb." 

"That's to be expected. It will probably be like that for a few days, until she gets into a regular routine again. I appreciate you staying with her." 

"It's not a problem. I'm happy to do it." 

"Yeah, I know you are." Carlisle's tone got more serious. "Edward…" Carlisle started, but I cut him off.

"Can I say something first, please?" 

"Go ahead." Carlisle nodded his head. 

"I know that a relationship between a human and a vampire isn't exactly kosher, but I can handle it. I could never hurt her, never."

"Edward, I'm not worried about you hurting her. I know you wouldn't harm her. I can tell by just watching you with her."

"Oh. Ok." 

"The thing is, you would have to tell her. I would want her to know what we are before you two got serious." I nodded my head, and Carlisle went on. "I have been talking with Esme, and we would like to welcome Bella into our home permanently. How would you feel about having her living here?" 

"I would love it." I answered quickly, and Carlisle smiled knowingly at me. 

"Yeah, I figured that. I will let Bella know she is welcome to stay here, but we have to tell her what we our first. I don't want her to be more uncomfortable then necessary." 

"Do you really think we should tell her right now? While she's got so much already going on?" I asked. 

"I was thinking about that, but I think we need to tell her now." I nodded my head. 

"So she can really stay here, with us?" 

"If she wants to, then yes." Carlisle nodded. 

"Thank you." 

"Don't thank me yet." Carlisle said sadly. "I want her here too. In fact Charlie asked that Bella live with us in his will, but he didn't know about us, so it makes things slightly complicated." 

"Um…Carlisle…" 

"Yes Edward?" 

"How does the rest of the family feel about this? Do they even know?" 

"They know. They all think it will be difficult, but they're ok with it." 

"You're sure?" Carlisle nodded his head. 

"Alright well I'm going to go talk to Bella."

"Would like me to come with you?" Carlisle asked. 

"No, I think I can handle it." I stood up from my seat and exited the room. 

"You did not!" I heard Bella exclaim as I walked into the guest room.

"Yes I did! If you were there you would have done it too!" Alice said laughing. 

"That's insane Alice, I wouldn't have started a fight with the bartender." 

"Yeah, I know, you're too much of a goody goody, we really need to work on that." Alice said laughing even more. Bella was smiling, but she wasn't laughing. I longed to hear her laugh, but I figured it would be a while.

"What's going on?" I asked. 

"Oh I was just telling Bella about spring of '04." 

"Ooooh. When you asked the bartender for a drink that didn't even exist, and then he questioned it, and you got all pissed at him?" Alice nodded her head "You went a little nuts." 

"Oh I was just having fun." Alice claimed. I gave Alice a look, signaling that I had to talk to Bella.

"I'm going to go find Jasper." Alice said. "I'll see you later Bella." Bella nodded, and Alice walked past me. 

"She'll take it well." She whispered as she passed me. I sighed, hoping she was right, and I knew she was. 

"Alice is crazy." Bella said as I sat down next to her on the bed. She had moved so that she was sitting crossed legged against the headboard. 

"Yeah she can be." I nodded. 

"Bella, I need to tell you something." 

**A/N: Yup, I'm ending it there, cause I'm cool like that. Sorry people! I just don't have any more time! Today is going to be crazy! This is the last update until I'm back from my trip next week. **

**Review please!**

**Shelby**


	10. Telling Bella

Special thanks to JennyPenny1014 for being an awesome beta

**Special thanks to JennyPenny1014 for being an awesome beta **

**A/N: This chapter switches POV a few times, just letting you know ;**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything related to the Twilight series. It's the work of Stephenie Meyer. **

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 10: Telling Bella

_Bella's Point of View:_

My heart started pounding as Edward sat down next to me. He had something he wanted to talk to me about, and he looked nervous, or maybe it was worry etched on his face, but either way it seemed like whatever he was about to tell me wasn't going to be good. I couldn't take any more bad news, I simply couldn't. My mind was running rampant with the possibilities of what could have happened. I noticed that Edward didn't sit as close to me as he had been lately.

"Is something wrong Edward?" I asked timidly, unable to hold in my curiosity any longer.

"Not exactly." He paused. "There's just something I need to you to know."

"Oh…ok."

"Bella…" He reached to take my hand, but he paused before he enclosed my hand in his.

"Can you please just tell me what's going on? You're starting to scare me."

_Edward's Point of View:_

Great I'm already scaring her, and I haven't even told her that we're vampires yet.

"I'm sorry. I just don't want to lose you." I said sadly.

"Edward, why would you lose me?" Bella asked in a shaky voice. Does she care about me as much as I care about her? It was killing me to see her so panicked. I knew I would have to tell her soon.

"This may be hard to believe…" I started.

"Edward please just tell me." She squeezed my hand, prodding me to go further. I was surprised she hadn't mentioned anything about the coldness and hardness of my body. She had to notice, didn't she?

"Bella, my family and I…well we aren't human." I didn't meet Bella's eyes when I said it.

"Well what are you then?" She asked, which shocked me, she didn't even sound surprised or worried at all. Finally I looked her in the eye to see if I could read her emotions. As I looked at her all I saw was curiosity. I wished I could read her mind, but for some odd reason her thoughts were blocked from me.

"We're vampires." I said after a few seconds.

"So you eat people?" I couldn't believe how comfortable she was with this.

"No, my family only eats animals."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So then, I'm not in danger being around you?"

"No I would never hurt you, ever." Bella nodded.

"Ok. Thank you for telling me." What?! How could she be so calm?

"You're welcome." It was the only think I could of think to say. Bella's reaction really shocked me.

"Carlisle said if you would like live her you can."

"Really?"

"Yeah, his only condition was that you know the truth about us."

"Ah…I'd be safe living here, right?"

"I would keep you safe." I said quickly.

"Ok. Do you mind if I take a shower?"

"No, go right ahead. There are towels under the sink."

"Alright, thanks." Bella stood up and walked into the bathroom.

"Be careful, it heats up fast." I called out to her. She turned around and gave me a small smile.

"Thanks for the warning." Then she continued into the bathroom and shut the door.

_Bella's Point of View: _

As I shut the bathroom door I released a large breath that I didn't know I was holding. So the Cullen's are vampires. Why doesn't that bother me? Is it because I like Edward so much? Or because Charlie was good friends with Carlisle, and he trusted him? Maybe it didn't bother me because I was expecting worse information? Well I certainly couldn't figure out why it didn't bother me, but it didn't.

I stepped into the shower, and started thinking about my options. I could go back and live with my mom, or I could stay here with the Cullen's. There wasn't much to think about. I have to stay with the Cullen's. I simply can't go back to my mom's. Just thinking about my mom was upsetting me. Tears slipped down my cheeks, but the hot water from the shower washed them away.

I stayed in the shower until my fingers looked like prunes, thinking and crying. Finally I turned off the water and stepped out. I slipped into my dry clothes and attempted to see myself in the mirror, but it was all steamed up, and I didn't wipe it down. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Edward turned his head to face me, and his face had concern written all over it.

_Edward's Point of View: _

I turned as Bella came out of the bathroom. She looked horrible. I mean of course she looked beautiful, but she looked beautifully sad. I quickly stood up and rushed to her. I wrapped her in my arms before even considering that maybe she didn't want me to be so close anymore. However I knew that wasn't the problem as soon as she clung onto me and started crying. I rubbed her back gently in attempts to calm her, but it didn't seem to be helping.

"Shh, sweetie, it's going to be alright." I whispered in her ear, wishing I knew what was bothering her. Was it just the death of her father, or was there more to it?

"Take a few deep breaths." I said. She took several shaky deep breaths and then looked up at me.

"I can't…go back to mom's." She said while tears continued to storm down her face. What had gone wrong with her mom? Now it didn't just seem like she didn't want to go back, but she couldn't.

"No one will make you go back." I told her.

She pulled away from me slightly and sniffled. I walked towards the bed and grabbed the Kleenex box, and Bella sat down on the bed.

"Here." I handed her the tissue box.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked calmly. She shook her head no.

"Ok." I said, although I really wanted to know what was wrong. "You know you can trust me, right?"

"I know, I'm just not used to telling people about my feelings. I've always kept them to myself."

"Sometimes it helps to talk things out."

"My mom and I got into a fight." She stated.

"Is that why you moved here?"

"Yeah. Charlie had always offered to have me live with him, but I never really wanted to. I thought I was in the right place, helping my mom, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. So what did you fight about?"

"Well I guess it wasn't much of a fight. It was more like something she told me." Bella looked down sadly.

"Hey, come on now." I said rubbing her back, trying to make things slightly better. She sniffled, and looked up at me. "Bella what did she say to you?" I asked while holding her gaze.

"She told me she didn't need me anymore, and that she didn't need the extra burden of having me with her. She said that Phil was all she needed now, that I was just nice to have around to do the house work."

"Oh Bella." I pulled her into my arms, and she cried. After several minutes I pulled back so that we were an arms length away from each other.

"Would you like to live here with us? I promise you would be safe." Bella just nodded, and then fell back against my chest.

**A/N: So I'm back! What did you think of the chapter? Yes I know Renee would not act like that, however I wanted a good reason for Bella to stay in Forks instead of going back to her mom. **

**Review please!!**

**Shelby**


	11. He's Really Gone

Special thanks to JennyPenny1014 for being an awesome beta

**Special thanks to JennyPenny1014 for being an awesome beta **

**A/N: Sorry sorry sorry!! I know I haven't updated in quite a while, life has been so crazy and I simply haven't had time. I'm going to try to start updating more frequently again. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything involved with Twilight, it's all Ms. Meyer's. **

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 11: He's Really Gone

_Bella's Point of View:_

I couldn't remember ever feeling as safe as I did now. I felt so secure in Edward's big, strong, protective arms. I have no idea how long I was entrapped by Edward's arms but all of a sudden a thought hit me.

"Oh my gosh, I have to plan Charlie's funeral!" I started to panic, and I sprung up, but Edward quickly grabbed me and pulled me back to him gently.

"Calm down sweetie, Alice planned the funeral." I took a deep breath, and took in the information Edward had just given me.

"Oh."

"Is that ok?" He asked, looking at me with worried eyes.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?" I nodded my head, unable to speak. I wasn't sure if it really was ok. Wasn't it my job to plan the funeral? Did I really want to plan the funeral?

"Please tell me what you're thinking; it's killing me not to know." Edward said.

"It's just…shouldn't I have done it? I mean I was his daughter."

"Did you want to do it? Alice didn't mean to offend you in any way. She just was trying to help. She thought it would be very hard for you to do…not that you couldn't do it." Edward added the last part in quickly.

"I just don't know." I said getting frustrated. "I feel like I should be the one who does it, like it's my responsibility. But honestly, I don't think I could have done it. I'm already too emotional." Edward wrapped his arms around me tightly, and I rested my head on his chest.

"When is it?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Tomorrow at four." I nodded. "Is that ok?"

"Yes. That's fine."

"Are you hungry?" Edward asked me.

"Not really."

"You haven't eaten in a while, you probably should."

"Yeah I guess I probably should."

"Come on." Edward said standing up, and lending me his hand. I took it gratefully and stood up. Edward led me to the kitchen and pulled out a chair for me.

"What would you like?"

"It doesn't matter."

"How about some spaghetti?"

"That sounds fine." I responded.

"Ok, I'll whip some up." Edward said kindly.

"Thank you." Edward turned and smiled at me sweetly.

"It's not a problem."

I sat and watched as Edward cooked the spaghetti, and I had a million thoughts running through my head. What would mom say when I told her I was going to live with the Cullens? Would she even come to the funeral? How many people would be at the funeral? Was Charlie being buried or cremated? But then someone abruptly pulled me from my thoughts.

"Hey Bells." I couldn't determine who had said it, but I automatically thought it was my dad. I turned immediately to see Emmett standing there, smiling sadly at me. I shook my head back and forth quickly trying to get it into my head that it wasn't Charlie, and it would never be him again. Edward must have realized how Emmett's words had affected me, because he raced over to me, and wrapped his arms around me.

"Are you ok?" He whispered in my ear. I nodded sadly, and turned my face into him.

"Oh my gosh, Bella I am so sorry. I didn't mean to." Emmett said apologetically realizing that he had struck a nerve by calling me Bells.

"It's ok Emmett." I sad pulling myself away from Edward.

"No it's not. I am so sorry."

"Well thanks Emmett, but it really is alright." Emmett nodded sadly.

"I was going to ask you if you needed anything from the store, I have to go anyways."

"Thanks, but I don't need anything."

"Are you sure? There's really not much in the house." Edward said. "Food wise I mean."

"Umm…could you pick up some chicken and hamburgers?" I asked Emmett.

"Of course. If you think of anything else just give me a call, ok?"

"Yeah, thank you." Emmett left, and I turned my attention to Edward.

"You might need to stir the spaghetti." I said.

"Oh yeah, that. Are you ok?" I nodded and he kissed the top of my head and then walked back to the stove.

After several minutes Edward placed a plate in front of me with the most amazing smelling spaghetti on it.

"Thank you, it smells wonderful."

"I hope it tastes as good as it smells." Edward said. I stuck my fork in and started eating, and it tasted even better than it smelled.

"Where on earth did you learn to cook?"

"I think I just picked up after so many years. Is it good?"

"It's wonderful."

"I'm glad you like it." Edward sat down in the chair next to me.

"Bella, if you don't want to talk it's ok, but how are you doing, what's running through your head?" Edward asked me after I finished off my plate.

"It's hard to believe that he's really gone, but he is." It was all I could say, because then I broke down into tears.

Alice came in at some point and I heard her smack Edward's head.

"What was that for?" Edward hissed.

"What did you do to her?" She asked, and I looked up to see her hands on her hips, and she was looking at Edward angrily.

"He didn't do anything Alice." I said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry I hit you Edward."

"Yeah sure you are." Edward replied.

"I am." Alice insisted.

"It's ok, don't worry about it."

"Thank you Alice." I said.

"For what?" She asked me.

"For planning Charlie's funeral. As much as I feel that I should be the one doing it, I just don't think I even could."

"If you had to you could have done it, but it's my pleasure to do it for you."

"Where is it going to be?"

"I thought here, if that's ok with you. We could do it somewhere else, but we have a lot of room here."

"Here is fine." I said. "Is it going to be an open casket?" I asked, not even sure if I really wanted to know.

"Well actually I talked to Charlie's lawyer, and he wanted to be cremated."

"Oh. I didn't know." I said.

"If that's not what you want…" Alice started.

"No no, that's fine; I want Charlie to have his wishes granted."

"Ok." There was a long silence and finally Alice spoke again. "I actually have some things I need to get done for tomorrow, so I'm going to leave you two."

"Alright, bye Alice." Edward said. I nodded my goodbye, and then Alice walked away.

I looked down at my shirt and realized I had a spaghetti stain. "I'm going to go change." I said.

"Alright, just bring your shirt out with you; I'll put it in the wash for you."

"Ok, thanks." I walked back up the stairs and into my room, and shut the door.

As soon as the door was shut and locked, I slipped down against it, and pulled my knees to my chest, and started to cry.

**A/N: Alright well that's all for now. I should be able to start updating more often, but I really don't know. It's getting towards the end of the school year, and things are hectic. **

**Review please!**

**Shelby**


	12. Thinking About Other Things

Special thanks to JennyPenny1014 for being an awesome beta

**Special thanks to JennyPenny1014 for being an awesome beta **

**A/N: Guess what! I don't have anything to say! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything involved with Twilight, it's all Ms. Meyer's. **

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 12: Thinking About Other Things

_Jasper's Point of View:_

"Did you buy the candles?" Alice asked as she rushed into our room.

"No, not yet. What…" She cut me off.

"Why not?" She asked raising her voice slightly.

"I just didn't get the chance to yet."

"Jasper, the funeral is at four tomorrow!"

"I know. I'll go get them. What color do you want?"

"You did not just ask me that!" Alice yelled.

"Um…" I paused to try and remember if she had already told me this. It wasn't like me to forget things.

"Just get white." Alice huffed.

"I'm sorry." I told Alice. I needed to end this because Alice's anger was starting to affect me, so I sent a wave of calm through the room.

"It's ok. I'm sorry too. I'm just stressed out."

"About the funeral?"

"Yeah I guess. There's just a lot going on. With the funeral, Edward and Bella…"

"Do you need more…" I was caught off guard by a strong wave of sadness.

"Need more what?" Alice pressed.

"Um…help." I mumbled.

"No, I've got it, but is something wrong?"

"Someone in the house is extremely sad."

"Oh, Jazz!" Alice said sympathetically, feeling bad for me, because I had to feel the sadness.

"I'm ok. But we should see if Edward is with Bella."

"I think they're in the kitchen."

"I'll go see." I said.

I walked into the kitchen to find Edward at the sink washing off a dish.

"Where's Bella?" Edward turned quickly to see me.

"She went upstairs to change." He said and then turned around to finish with the dish.

"How long ago?" I asked. Edward put the dish in the cupboard and then turned to face me again.

"I don't know, maybe like five minutes ago. Why? What's going on?"

"I got hit with a burst of sadness, even more than what's been floating around the house lately. I think you should go check on her." Edward was gone before I could even finish my sentence.

"What was that all about?" Rose asked as she walked in.

"Bella."

"Oh." Rose nodded.

"Do you need anything from the store? I have to go get candles."

"Umm.." Rose paused in deep thought. "Nothing I can think of, but thanks for offering."

"Alright, I will be back soon."

_Edward's Point of View:_

I raced up the stairs and knocked on Bella's door, but she didn't answer. I quickly opened the door and found Bella sitting on the floor crying. I paused momentarily to stare at this beautiful, yet broken girl. Then I leaned down and picked her up. She leaned into my body and continued to cry. I laid her down on the bed and covered her up with the blankets.

"Edward…" She mumbled out between cries.

"Yeah sweetie?"

"Will you please…" She sniffled "lay with me?"

I nodded and got in bed next to her. She snuggled close to me and wrapped her arms tightly around me. I craved to taste her blood, but I could never do that to her. I would never harm her. So instead I wrapped my arms around her and rubbed her back as she continued to cry on my chest.

"I miss him." She whispered.

"I know baby, I know." I wasn't sure if it was too soon to start calling her cutesy names, but it just came out, and it fit in my mind. I moved her hair away from her eyes and kissed her forehead. Bella took several deep breaths and her heart beat began to settle down.

"Are you hard and cold because you're a vampire?" She mumbled after several minutes.

"Uh…yeah." I said and I started moving away from her.

"No no, its fine, I was just wondering." She said as she pulled me back to her.

"Tell me something. I need to take my mind off things." She mumbled into my chest.

"What would you like me to tell you?"

"Anything. Tell me about yourself; your vampire traits."

"Ok. Well as you've already noticed, I'm hard and cold. We're extremely strong, and we don't really age over the years."

"So you're not really a teenager?" She asked, looking up at me. She still had tears in her eyes, and it saddened me to see her hurting.

"No, I'm not a teenager. I'm a lot older than you."

"Oh." Bella said quietly.

"Does that bother you?"

"No, it makes me feel smarter."

"What?" I asked, I was confused.

"Well I've been thinking you're super smart, which you are, but you've had years to acquire your knowledge." I laughed quietly and kissed Bella's cheek.

"You are smart." I assured her.

"Thank you."

"You are so welcome." There was a long silence and during it I just rubbed Bella's back, in efforts to comfort her.

"I hope I'm not keeping you from things you need to do." Bella said quietly.

"No not at all." Bella nodded.

"Ok, good." Bella bit her lip, and it seemed that she had more to say.

"Do you know if my mom is going to come to the funeral?"

"Alice told me she is, so yeah, she is coming. If Alice says yes, then believe me, it's true."

"What do you mean?"

"Alice can see the future." I said nonchalantly.

"Are you serious?" Bella asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I am."

"Do you…um…have a special trait."

"Yes."

"Well…"

"I can read minds." Bella's eyes went huge. "But not yours."

"What?" She asked looking a little less rattled.

"I don't know why, but you are the only person whose mind I simply can't read. It's rather frustrating not knowing what you are thinking." Bella giggled slightly.

"I'm sorry I frustrate you." She joked. It was good to see her joking, even if it was only a little bit.

"That's ok. I still love you." Oh my gosh! Had I really just said that?

"You love me?" Bella asked.

What do I do? What do I do? I could lie…but no, that's not a good idea. I should just tell her the truth.

"Yeah, I do love you. I hope that's ok." Bella moved up towards my face and captured my lips with her own.

"It more than ok. I think I love you too."

xXxXxXxXx

_the next day at the funeral_

_Bella's Point of View:_

Everything looked beautiful. White votives filled the room, and there were flowers everywhere you turned. In the front of the room against the wall of windows was a table, with a dark red table cloth. On top of the table was an urn filled with Charlie's ashes, and on each side of the urn there were three candles.

Off to the left side of the room a slide show was playing. It had pictures of Charlie from the time when he was born up to a recent picnic we had at the park with Esme and Carlisle. Emmett had put the show together, and he did a wonderful job with it.

Music was softly playing in the background. I knew Edward was into music, so I figured he had chosen the selections, and he had done a wonderful job. The songs were all slow and melodic, sad, but not overwhelmingly so.

I was sitting on one of the oversized chairs taking everything in, when Edward came up to me.

"Do you like it?" He asked softly. I wiped the tears away from my eyes, and then turned my head up towards him.

"Yes. It's all very nice. Alice did a beautiful job." I said, and I could hear my voice crack with emotion. Edward rubbed my shoulder, and I leaned into his touch.

"I don't know if I can do this." I said.

"Do what?" He asked calmly.

"Be here. I mean when everyone comes. I don't know if I can handle it." Edward knelt down so that he was face to face with me.

"If you feel like that when people do get here, just tell me. We'll go upstairs, or we'll leave. Ok?" He tilted his head to look into my eyes.

"Yeah, ok." I nodded. He pulled me into his strong arms and gave me a hug.

"Thank you Edward." I whispered. He kissed my cheek.

"You don't need to thank me. I'm here for you no matter what. You got that?"

"Yeah."

"People are here." Alice said as she walked into the room.

"You ready for this?" Edward asked me.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out." Edward nodded and put his hand out for me to take. I gratefully did, and stood up.

**A/N: Alright so next chapter we'll see what happens when people come into the house! **

**Review please!**

**-Shelby**


	13. The Funeral and Renee

A/N: Guess what

**A/N: Guess what! I don't have anything to say…again!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything involved with Twilight, it's all Ms. Meyer's. **

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 13: The Funeral and Renee

_Bella's Point of View:_

Edward had his arm draped around my waist, as we walked to the center of the room, ready to greet the people who came.

"Hello Bella. I'm Stanley Harding. I'm so very sorry for your loss. I've known Charlie for about ten years, we worked together." I couldn't form words to respond, and I was grateful to have Edward there with me.

"I'm Edward Cullen; it's nice to meet you, although I wish we were meeting under different circumstances."

"Most definitely." Stanley replied, and he looked at me, probing me to respond.

"Thank you very much for coming." I managed to say. Stanley glanced towards the wall where the slide show was playing.

"I'm going to go watch that." Stanley spoke quietly, and excused himself politely. I could tell he felt the awkward vibe that I was feeling as well.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to Edward. He tightened his grip around me, and whispered back to me.

"Don't worry about it. Are you ok?" He asked, and his voice was filled with so much concern.

"I don't know. I didn't think I would have such a hard time just responding. Thank you for covering for me."

"Anytime."

Soon the house was filled with people, and for the most part I had managed to talk to people fairly well compared to Stanley. But then my mother walked through the door. I didn't see her right away, but soon she was in my view.

"She's here." I said slightly terrified to Edward.

"Your mom?" He asked. I nodded my head quickly. "It will be ok. I'm not going to leave your side…ok?"

"Mmhhmm." I said, although for once having Edward beside me wasn't comforting me very much.

My mom was standing n the room, looking around, most likely searching for me. Finally her eyes met mine, and quickly she walked towards me.

"When are you coming home?" She asked me, without even saying hello first.

"I'm…" I started, but she cut me off.

"Because I'm going to have to move all of my stuff out of your room." She finished with a huff.

"Well…" I tried again, but she didn't want to hear it, at least not until she'd said everything she wanted to.

"Who's this?" She spit out, pointing rudely at Edward.

"This is…" I said quietly, my voice shaking.

"I'm Edward Cullen." Edward replied strongly, and I could sense protectiveness in his voice.

"Who gave you the right to be with Bella?" Renee asked angrily. She had started to make a scene, and the guests were starting to stare. As if he had been called to fix everything Carlisle rushed over.

"Why don't we all step into the kitchen." Carlisle suggested, but Renee didn't want that.

"I think we're fine right here. I want an answer." She said angrily.

"Mother, I choose to be with him." I said, trying to be strong, but even I heard my voice shaking.

"Oh really?" She looked towards Edward. "What makes you want to be with her? She's nothing special." The words that came out of my mother's mouth made every fiber of my being burn with pain, and I thought I might collapse.

_Edward's Point of View:_

I couldn't believe the words that Renee had just spoken. I knew that Bella didn't get along with her mother, but I didn't know anyone could say such a cruel thing about their one and only child, or about any of their children for that matter.

I was fuming with anger towards this woman, and I hadn't realized it, but Carlisle had at some point put his arm on me, to restrain me. At that point I looked over to see Bella, and she looked as if she were dead. She wasn't moving, and she didn't even appear to be breathing.

"Come with me." Carlisle was saying to Renee, as I stared at Bella, and shook her shoulders gently, trying to snap her out of her trance. Carlisle had taken Renee by the arm, and was taking her outside.

"Bella." I said gently. She didn't seem to notice I was talking to her. "Bella how bout we go outside? Get some fresh air?" She simply nodded, and I led her out the backdoor to the backyard, so that we could avoid Carlisle and Renee. We sat down on the lounge chairs, and Bella kept her eyes on her feet, as I watched her intensely.

"Bella…" I started, but she wouldn't look at me. I slid a finger under her chin, and pulled her face up, so that she would look me in the eye. "You are something special, and please no matter what anyone ever tells you, remember that." I said sternly, trying to convey to her that it was the truth.

"But…" Bella started, but I cut her off.

"There are no buts' about it. You are an amazing person, and if your mother can't see that, then that's her own damn fault, but don't you dare let her bring you down." The tears welled up in Bella's eyes and she tried to look away from me, but I held her face in place. "Do you understand me?" Bella nodded her head, and then the tears began to fall.

"Oh sweetie." I said as I pulled Bella into my arms, and her body shook from her sobs.

"Why did she even bother coming here?" Bella cried. I was wondering the same thing, and I had a feeling that Carlisle was getting the reason for her appearance.

_Carlisle's Point of View:_

"Why Carlisle it is wonderful to see you again. It's been far too long." Renee spoke in an overly happy tone.

"Renee, what are you doing here?" I got straight to the point. She looked far too happy for my personal taste.

"I've come to collect my daughter."

"I think Bella should stay here. She's going to be starting school in the fall, and she is welcome to stay with us."

"That's a nice offer, but she needs to come home." I could tell by the way Renee was talking that she didn't want Bella home so that Bella could be happy, but because somehow she herself would benefit from having her there.

"What do you want from her?"

"What makes you think I want something?"

"Because Renee, I know you. I've known you for a very long time, we used to be friends, but that time has certainly passed us."

"I just want my daughter, is there something so wrong with that?"

"Yes there is, because I saw the way you just treated her."

"She's my daughter Carlisle; I will treat her how I see fit."

"Unfortunately, I disagree with you."

"Well, that's too bad, because it really doesn't matter what you think."

"Maybe not, but Bella's opinion does count."

"No it doesn't, she's not eighteen yet." Renee spoke as if she had already won.

"That's true; however, Bella could file for emancipation." Renee paused for a moment before answering.

"Bella would never do that. She doesn't have it in her to go up against me in a court."

"Well you never know."

"Carlisle." Renee started.

"Why don't you just leave? We can discuss this more at a later time, but right now there's a funeral going on, and this is not the place to discuss this."

"Fine." With a huff, Renee turned and walked to her car and proceeded to leave.

The rest of the funeral went smoothly. Many people came to pay their respect. Bella and Edward had come back inside about twenty minutes after Renee had left, and Bella seemed to be able to talk to the guests.

When the final guest had left, everyone sunk into seats, and looked like they would pass out.

"What is going on? We are vampires, we don't need sleep!" Emmett declared, and everyone chuckled lightly, except for Bella, who seemed to be falling asleep sitting up.

"You should put her to bed." I told Edward. He nodded, and bent down to pick Bella up.

"I can walk." She mumbled, and stood up, but the first step she took, she tripped, and Edward caught her in his strong arms, and picked her up.

"Night everyone." Edward said, and then he and Bella disappeared up the stairs.

**A/N: Will Renee get Bella? I don't know, you tell me! Review please!**


	14. Note

Hey readers!

I really appreciate that you have read this story. I realize that it isn't finished and there is still so much more to come from it, however I'm extremely busy with my life. A lot has happened recently and they are things that need my undivided attention. Unfortunately I am not sure when I will be able to return to writing this story. I'll do my best, but right now I'm not even sure what my best is.

Again I'm very sorry about this.

-Shelby


	15. Buying Off Renee

**A/N: So here's a new chapter for you! I'm actually very proud of myself for writing this. I think I am finally going to be able to put more time into this story again! I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! Big shocker, right?**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 14: Buying Off Renee

_Bella's Point of View:_

"Edward, you don't have to carry me." I mumbled into his shoulder. Even though I said he didn't have to, I wanted him to. I wasn't actually sure that I could walk.

"Yes, actually I do." I simply nodded into his chest, and he chuckled lightly.

"What's so funny?" I asked as Edward placed me gently on the bed.

"Just go to sleep Bella." Edward whispered and kissed my forehead.

I flipped over and closed my eyes, but the second I did that I saw Renee yelling, and I instantly snapped up, and started breathing heavily. Edward had been sitting across the room reading a book, but he rushed over when he saw me.

"Bella, baby, what's wrong?" He asked as he pulled me into his arms.

"Renee." I breathed heavily.

"Sweetie, she isn't here." Edward said as he rubbed my back, trying to calm my nerves.

"I saw her when I closed my eyes…Edward I don't want her to take me." I clung to Edward as he continued to rub my back.

"Bella, I will NOT let Renee get you, please don't worry about that. Everything is going to be ok. I'm not going to let anything happen to you now, or ever." He pulled me even closer to him, and my breathing began to slow down. Slowly the tears stopped falling, and Edward spoke again.

"Do you want anything right now? Maybe a glass of water?" I nodded my head against him.

"Ok, I will be right back." He untangled himself from my body and walked out of the room.

_Edward's Point of View:_

As I made my way into the kitchen I saw that Carlisle was on the phone, and he looked rather upset. I decided to get Bella's water, and then I would come back and see if I could find out who Carlisle was arguing with. When I walked back through the kitchen to the stairs, Carlisle was still on the phone, and I decided I should really get back to Bella, so I just kept going.

"Edward, wait." I heard Carlisle whisper to me.

I quickly turned around and headed back down the stairs just as Carlisle hung up the phone.

"That was Renee's lawyer." Carlisle said.

"Already? We just saw her today." I was surprised that Renee was acting so quickly.

"Well Renee wants Bella."

"I don't even understand that. The way she talks to Bella, it seems like she wouldn't want her around."

"Because, Bella gets money from Charlie's death, and if she's with Renee, then Renee can easily get that money from her."

"Carlisle, we can't let Renee get Bella. Bella just flipped out because she is worried about that."

"Edward I know that. I talked to Renee's lawyer though, and it's going to be a difficult battle."

"She's almost eighteen, why is this such a difficult battle?"

"Bella isn't eighteen yet. She may have to file for emancipation from her mother. However, I think that Renee will go away if we just name the right price."

"You're willing to pay Renee off?" I asked, not really all that surprised.

"Most definitely. You know that I love Bella as if she were my own daughter, and I cannot stand how Renee treats her."

"How much do you think you'll have to pay Renee?"

"Well…Charlie had a lot more money than I would have guessed, and we are going to have to offer Renee even more than that, because she isn't going to settle for less than what she would get if Bella was with her."

"Are you going to tell me a price, or just make me sit here thinking about it."

"I'm offering 5.5 million."

"DOLLARS?"

"No Edward, pennies. Of course dollars." Carlisle responded sarcastically.

"How much did Charlie have?" I asked stunned.

"Well, he had around three million."

"How did Charlie acquire that much money? I mean, I know he was the chief police officer, but he still didn't make that much money."

"It turns out that Charlie inherited a lot of the money."

"From who?" I couldn't think of anyone who would have had that much money to give to Charlie. I mean other than my own family, Forks was known as a rich area. It was middle class for the most part.

"Well, he inherited some of it from his father's death, and then when his mother died he received everything that was left from his father and his mother. Then the previous police chief left everything to him, because he didn't have family left over to give it to. That's who Charlie got the most money from. The chief's family had owned several businesses, so there was a lot of money that was passed to him."

"Wow." I looked down, and saw that I still had Bella's water in my hand. "Shoot. Carlisle, I need to take this up to Bella. Do you still need to talk to me?"

"No, I just thought I should let you know what's going on, and you might want to let Bella know as well. Make sure this is also what she wants, if she wants to live with Renee…" I cut Carlisle off.

"I will not allow her to live with that woman." I said very sternly.

"Edward, that really is not your choice."

"First of all, Bella doesn't want to live with her, and second of all, I love Bella, and I will not allow her to be treated so unfairly and with such a lack of love."

"Edward, I understand that, believe me I do, but this is ultimately Bella's decision."

"I'll talk to her." I turned around and walked up the steps, slightly frustrated that Carlisle would even consider allowing Bella to live with that woman.

I walked through the door, and I didn't see Bella. I walked around the room, and when I still didn't see her I called out her name, but she didn't respond. Finally I saw that the bathroom door was shut. I quickly walked over, and tapped gently on the door. No one responded.

"Bella, it's me, Edward." She still didn't respond.

"Bella, honey, please respond." I begged, but she still didn't respond.

"I'm coming in." I finally said, and then I walked in the door.

Bella was leaning against the bathtub, holding her head in her hands, and she was crying. I raced over to her, and knelt beside her.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice thick with worry. She looked up at me, and she appeared to be trying to speak, but she couldn't get the words out. Her body was trembling, and she had goose bumps. I quickly stood up to go get Carlisle; there was something seriously wrong with Bella. As I went to walk away I felt Bella tug on my pants, trying to get me to stay.

"Sweetie, I'm just going to get Carlisle, there is something wrong with you." She slowly nodded and I ran out the door.

"Carlisle!" I called out as I ran down the stairs.

"What is it Edward?" Carlisle asked as he stepped out of his office.

"There's something wrong with Bella." He could tell from my face that it was serious, and he quickly took the lead going up the stairs.

"She's in the bathroom." I yelled up after him.

Carlisle made it to Bella a few seconds before I entered the bathroom. He was talking to her, but she was unable to respond.

"Bella just shake your head yes and no to answer my questions." Carlisle instructed her.

"Does your head hurt?" Bella nodded her head yes.

"Are any parts of your body numb?" Again Bella nodded her head yes.

"Are you cold?" Bella nodded her head yes.

"Does your stomach hurt?" Bella shook her head no this time. Carlisle went silent, thinking. After only a few seconds I grew impatient.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"It seems that she has a migraine…Bella have you ever had a migraine before?" Carlisle asked. Bell shook her head no.

"They can be cause from stress." Carlisle explained. That makes sense that she has one then, I thought.

"Can you give her anything?" I asked.

"I don't have anything here, I would have to run to the pharmacy, which is going to take a while, and I'm sure Bella is a lot of pain." Bella moaned on the floor, as if on cue.

"Well is there anything we can do while you go get it?"

"A hot shower might make her feel better, and if she could sleep that would really be the best, but I have a feeling she's in too much pain to sleep. Most people feel better after they throw up, but that could take a long time, and that doesn't even always happen."

"Ok." I simply said, wondering how Bella would be able to take a shower, it didn't seem that she could move, and I didn't think she would want me to help her get in the shower.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Carlisle said, and then hurried out the door.

I slowly walked over to Bella and sat down with her.

"Do you want to take a shower?"

"I'm…so…cold." She was finally able to talk a little bit.

"A hot shower might help that." I said.

"Edward…I would…need your…help…" She looked up at me with her big brown eyes. I could see the worry in her eyes, and I knew she was slightly uncomfortable with the idea of me helping her get into the shower. I knew that I was so worried about her right now, that this wouldn't even truly matter.

"Bella, I'm going to help you get in the shower ok?" She slowly nodded her head, and the tears continued to fall down her cheeks.

I stood up and turned the shower on, and let it heat up. Then I walked back over to Bella.

"You ready?" I asked her, and she slowly nodded her head. I carefully undressed her, without paying attention to her body, and wrapped a towel quickly around her, so that I couldn't see anything. Then I moved her into the shower. Her body started quivering when she hit the water.

"It's cold Edward." She mumbled. I quickly stuck my hand in the water, and found that it was hot, not cold at all, but I turned the hot water on more anyways.

"Is that better?" She nodded her head, and eased her body down, so that she was sitting on the floor, and the water rushed over her body. She held her knees to her chest and I shut the shower door.

"I'm going to be right over there, if you need me." I said, and I pointed towards the corner of the bathroom, where I was still close, but I wouldn't be able to see.

After twenty minutes I decided I should check on Bella, and see if she wanted to come out.

"Bella, do you want to come out?" She nodded her head yes.

I grabbed a towel, and then opened the shower door, and quickly wrapped her small body up in the towel. I lifted her gently out of the shower, and brought her out to the bedroom. I gently placed her down on the bed, and then turned to walk away to find her some clothes. I found her a pair of sweat pants and an oversized t-shirt that I could easily slip on her without seeing her naked form. I quickly dressed her, and then slipped her under the covers. Her body shook from being cold for a while, and then finally Carlisle walked through the door with a bottle of pills.

Carlisle poured two pills into his hand then walked over to the bed. He handed them to Bella, and then gave her a glass of water. She slowly took the pills and then I took the glass from her.

"Wait." Carlisle said. "Bella do you want something that will make you sleep?" She nodded quickly, which seemed to cause her even more pain. Carlisle pulled another bottle out of his pocket, and gave her another pill. "Take this, you should be asleep in less than five minutes."

Sure enough three minutes later Bella was asleep.

"Is she going to be ok?" I asked Carlisle, as I stared at her sleeping body.

"Yes. She really scared you, didn't she?"

"Yeah. I've never seen anything like that before. I mean she couldn't even talk." I said as I continued to stare at her, worried something was going to happen again.

"I know. I'm going to leave you two be. She really will be ok. Tomorrow her head will feel shook up, but other than that, she really will be fine."

"Ok, thank you."

"Anytime." Carlisle walked out of the room, and I sat down on the chair next to Bella's bed, watching her intently.

**A/N: Alright end of chapter. That stuff really does happen when you get a migraine, believe, me I know, they are not fun! Review please!**


	16. Shaky

**A/N: I need more reviews people! They make me want to write more!**

**Special thanks to Jenny for being an awesome beta!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 15: Shaky

_Bella's Point of View: _

As I woke up I realized that my throat felt incredibly dry, and I turned my head to that there was a glass of water sitting on the bedside table. I sat up and instantly regretted it. My head seemed to rattle in my skull, and I quickly pulled my hands to my head.

"Are you ok?" I heard Edward ask. I hadn't realized he was even in the room, and his voice shocked me.

"Yeah…" I started. He sat down next me gently, and handed me the water, somehow knowing that was what I had wanted.

"Here ya go. You may feel better after you drink some."

I took the cup from Edward and started drinking. I could feel his gaze on me as he watched me intently. It was nice to know that he cared so much. It was so much different than the way I had been treated when I was living with Renee. I could never go back to that way of life, and I never would.

"How's your head feel?" Edward asked as I handed the glass back to him.

"It kind of feels like someone is shaking it around whenever I move, but if I stay still I'm ok." I responded quietly. My own voice seemed so loud to me.

"Well luckily there's no reason for you to do much moving today. You can just stay in bed and get better."

"I'll be ok Edward." I attempted to insist to Edward, but he didn't want to hear it. He shook his head no at me.

"Bella just rest today, ok? For me?" He pleaded with his eyes, and I simply couldn't deny him.

"Ok." I replied simply. He gently kissed my forehead, and then pushed me back down against the bed gingerly. Then he started to get up, and I thought he was going to leave.

"Please don't leave me here alone." I pleaded with Edward.

"Baby, I'm not going anywhere. I was just going to grab an extra pillow."

"You're going to lie with me?" I asked with hope seeping from my voice.

"Actually I was getting the pillow for you, but would you like me to lay with you?"

"I don't need another pillow…and yes…I would like it very much if you would lay with me." I said quietly, almost whispering.

"Then of course I'll lay with you." He said while smiling and coming back to the bed. He laid down beside me, and I moved closer to him, laying my head on his chest.

Edward began stroking my back, and before I knew it, I was asleep again.

I woke up to slight movement under me, to see that Edward was simply just readjusting himself.

"How long did I sleep for?" I questioned, sleep still thick in my voice.

"About two hours." He responded simply.

I slowly sat up, remembering how my head had felt earlier when I sat up quickly. My head still felt rattled, but it wasn't as bad when I moved at such a slow pace.

"Any better?" Edward asked.

"A bit." I smiled lamely.

We laid there together peacefully for several minutes, and then finally Edward broke the silence.

"Bella, I need to talk to you about some things."

"Ok." I replied hesitantly. When Edward didn't start talking I pushed him further. "What's going on?"

"I can't believe I'm even going to ask you this…" Edward started, looking frustrated.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked cautiously.

Immediately Edward started shaking his head, "No no no, you didn't do anything wrong at all. It's just…well if it were all up to me, I wouldn't bother asking you this at all."

"Edward, you are starting to scare me, will you please just ask the question?"

"Carlisle told me that I had to ask you this…"

"Ok. Ask!"

"Is there any chance that you want to live with Renee?" Edward let out a deep breath after it left his mouth.

"No." I replied shortly. "I do not ever want to live with that woman, ever again." Edward started to respond, but I didn't let him, I kept going. "Even if I can't live here, I will figure something out. I will not go back to that woman, and nobody can make me." I was getting frustrated and I started to get off the bed to get my things together.

"Bella, what are you doing?" Edward asked me.

"Packing." I replied hastily.

"Why?"

"I'm in everyone's way here, and if Carlisle doesn't want me here then that's fine, I'll just get out of the way." Tears were building up in my eyes, and I was ready to cry. I knew that I was overreacting, but I couldn't control it. I felt unwanted, and hurt.

"Bella, you are not in anyone's way. Carlisle wants you here, but he says that it is your decision, he told me I had to ask you. We can't just take you from your mother if it's not what you want."

"Well I don't want to be with her." I yelled. I turned to yell directly at Edward, because he was the closest target, but when I spun around, he was right there, closer than I had expected, with an apologetic look on his face. My facial features softened as I took in his expression, and when he knew that I wasn't angry with him he pulled me into a hug, cradling me against his hard chest.

"Will you please stay here?" Edward asked me quietly as he continued holding me close to him. I simply nodded against his chest, and he kissed my forehead.

"Good." He held me for a while as I continued to calm down. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and I started to pull away from Edward, but he kept holding onto to me tightly.

"Come in." Edward said softly, but loud enough for whoever was at the door to hear.

"Is everything alright?" I could tell it was Carlisle.

"Everything will be just fine." Edward replied, comforting me, and informing Carlisle all at one time. Edward continued to rub my back, and I knew that Carlisle hadn't left the room yet. "Bella will be staying with us." Edward said.

"Ok, I'm glad to hear it. I will take care of everything, don't worry."

I pulled away from Edward and turned to face Carlisle. "Thank you so much. I hope that I'm not in your way. I don't want to be a burden."

"Bella, you are not a burden by any means. We want you here. Esme and I love you as if you are our own. We just want you to be happy, and have the best in life." Tears welled up in my eyes and I walked over to Carlisle and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you so much."

XxXxX

_Carlisle's Point of View_

"I'm willing to offer Renee a lot of money if she will settle this ordeal outside of court."

"Well, I'll talk to Renee, how much are you willing to put up for her?" Renee's lawyer asked.

"Do you think 5.5 million will be good enough for her?" I replied.

"Are you being serious?" Mr. Bradley, Renee's lawyer asked.

"Completely."

"We are talking about a girl who is almost 18 years old and will be off on her own soon, and you want to spend that much money on her?"

"Yes I do. Bella deserves happiness, she will have that here."

"Well…I will talk to Renee and get back to you soon."

"Goodbye for now." I hung up the phone, and Esme walked through the door.

"Do you think she'll take the offer?" Esme asked with a look of concern on her face.

"Of course she will, she just wants money." I pulled Esme into my lap. "How are you doing?" I asked, and I nuzzled her neck. She extended her neck to give me more access, and I slathered it with gentle kisses.

"I'm fine. I'm worried about Bella, but all of a sudden all the worry is leaving me." She smiled sweetly at me.

"Why don't we go upstairs?" I suggested.

Esme got off my lap and extended her hand to me, and we walked up the stairs quietly to our room.

**A/N: Review please! **


	17. Happy but Hurt

**A/N: Thank you very much to everyone who let me know that they wanted me to continue. I will try to start updating regularly again. Like I mentioned I was on a month long vacation, and for half the month I was out of the country, but I have no more vacations planned, so updating shouldn't be a problem. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with the Twilight saga; it all belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 17: Happy but Hurt

_Renee's Point of View:_

As I sat flipping through the channels on the television I heard the phone ring.

"Hello." I answered.

"Renee, this is Chris Bradley."

"I hope you have good news for me." I said expectantly.

"Carlisle would like to handle this situation out of court…" I cut him off; I knew where this was going.

"That is not going to work for me. He can't have Bella."

"Renee, he is willing to give you 5.5 million." I couldn't breathe. That was more money than I could even fathom.

"Renee? Renee, are you still there?"

"Yes…I'm here." I said after I had time to collect myself.

"Will that work for you?"

"Yes." I stated simply.

"I will write up the papers, and let Carlisle know. Do you have any questions?"

"Does he expect anything from me?"

"Only that he gets Bella."

"That's fine. If I'm getting that much money I don't need her."

"I will call you when I have everything ready."

"Thank you. Goodbye."

"Bye."

XxXxXxXxX

_Edward's Point of View:_

Bella was curled up against my side, and we were watching a movie in the theater in the basement, when I heard the phone ring. It was answered within only two rings, so I didn't bother moving from my position. Bella was smiling and seemingly enjoying the movie but it seemed like something was building up behind her eyes that she wouldn't show.

"Bella…" I started, but I didn't continue because I didn't want to interrupt the movie.

"Hmmm…." She responded.

"Nothing, let's just watch the movie." I kissed her forehead, and she pushed her body closer to me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah baby, I'm sure." She nodded and repositioned herself on my side.

"Am I hurting you?" I chuckled lightly.

"Not at all sweetie." She smiled.

"Right…I forgot." She blushed slightly, and I ran my thumb over her cheek, causing her blush to deepen. She turned her head back to the movie.

When the movie was over there was a light tap at the door.

"Come in." I said. In walked Carlisle, with an expression I had a hard time reading, but immediately I read his mind, and a huge smile broke out onto my face, until I realized why Carlisle's expression was so unreadable. Renee had agreed to the deal, which was great, but that meant that Bella wasn't worth it to her. I knew that no matter how much Bella disliked Renee that would still hurt her. It was a bittersweet revelation. Bella would stay with us, which was the pleasant part. The painful part was that Renee didn't want Bella.

"What's going on?" Bella asked as she picked up on the mood.

"Renee has agreed to let you stay here." I said.

"Really?" Bella asked. She seemed truly shocked.

"Yes." I was hoping that she would let it go with that, but of course she didn't.

"I don't have to go to court or anything?"

"No" I answered simply.

"Edward, are you going to explain?" Bella asked me with curious eyes. I was still trying to decide how to respond when Carlisle spoke up.

"I made Renee an offer and she excepted it."

"Oh." Bella said sadly. "What was the offer?" I knew right away that Carlisle would tell her, he wouldn't sugar coat it.

"5.5 million."

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry. You should not have spent that much. I could have lived with her." Bella instantly stood up. "Is it already final? I'll go back. Keep your money!" Bella looked like she was about to burst into to tears.

"Bella!" Carlisle said sternly, yet still with kindness. He placed his hands securely on her shoulders. "You are worth every penny. We want you here. You are going to stay with us."

"But…" She started.

"No buts'. You will stay with us. You'll be safe, and you most definitely be loved here. Your life with Renee was not one that I ever want you to have to experience again."

"This isn't right. You weren't supposed to spend so much on me. I had no idea it would take that much."

"Bella, please do not worry about it." Carlisle tried to reassure her.

"I need to be alone." Bella pulled away from Carlisle and went up the stairs.

"I know you probably didn't want me to tell her how much I spent." Carlisle said, looking at me apologetically.

"It's ok. I'm sure she would have found out eventually…somehow."

"How long are going to give her on her own?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know. I understand needing time to think by yourself." I said.

"Edward…she may try to run. She seemed upset that the amount was so large."

"I know. But we will hear if she tries to leave. I don't think she will. I think she's probably hurt, and relieved all at the same time."

"It certainly is a bittersweet feeling. I hate that I knew Renee would except the offer." I nodded in agreement with Carlisle.

XxXxXxXxX

_Bella's Point of View:_

"Who wouldn't take 5.5 million?" I thought to myself. I was trying to get over the feeling of hurt. It's hard to believe that my own mother would rather have money than me. Although I guess it really wasn't that hard to believe. Renee never truly showed me any affection.

I hated that Carlisle was spending so much money to keep me away from Renee. I appreciated the generosity, but it was simply too much. I couldn't explain the way it made me feel to have someone love me so much that they were willing to spend that kind of money.

I laid on my bed for about two hours when there was a gentle tap at the door.

"Come in." I expected Edward to walk in the door, but instead it was Rose.

"Hi Bella." She said softly. Rose had never showed me much kindness, but she seemed to be now.

"I'd like to talk to you, if you don't mind." She said.

"That's fine."

"I know I've never been…nice to you, but I want you to know that our family really cares about you, and the money that they are spending is fully worth it. Bella, first of all, we all love you, but to see Edward so happy…it's hard to explain, but there is nothing that is worth more than you to this family. You complete us in a way that we were never complete before. Edward needs you, and because of that, we all need you."

I started to cry. "Bella, what's wrong?" Rose asked, showing concern for me.

"It's just…I can't explain how I feel, other than I feel loved." And then she did something that really surprised me; she pulled me into a hug.

"Believe me, you are."

**A/N: So what did you think??**


	18. Fresh Air

**A/N: I want to say an extra special thank you to all of you who sent me reviews letting me know what you wanted from me. It really helped in making the decision.**

**You can expect a few more chapters out of this story, I'm not quite sure how many, but I think I came up with a plan that can still stick to the main theme of my story, which is basically making things Bittersweet. **

**I hope you enjoy, and for all of you who actually read the author's note, kudos to you ;) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with the Twilight saga; it all belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 18: Fresh Air

_Bella's Point of View:_

I was sitting on Edward's bed listening to the soft sound of his stereo, when he walked in quietly, and sat down next to me.

"How you holding up?" He asked me, placing a single kiss on my temple.

"I'm alright." Edward looked at me disapprovingly. "What?" I asked.

"I want to know how you are." He said very seriously. I shrugged, and looked down.

"Bella." He stated softly, and placed his slender finger under my chin, pulling it up, so that my eyes would meet his gaze. He looked at me meaningfully, lovingly. I stayed silent for a moment, trying to put words together.

"It hurts." I decided to go with simple, even though there was many more words that were floating in my mind. Edward huffed audibly.

"Why won't you tell me what's on your mind?" He asked with slight annoyance, but I could tell that he was really only asking out of concern for me.

"It just doesn't matter." I said simply.

"It does though. You shouldn't keep all of your feelings bottled up inside."

"I'm used to it." I said glumly.

"What do you mean, 'I'm used to it'?" He looked at me curiously.

"I never talk about what's on my mind."

"Why not?"

"There's never been anyone to tell, or anyone who would care for that matter." Edward looked at me sadly and pulled me close to him.

"Bella, I can't make things that have happened in your past go away, but I'm here now, and I want to know, and I do care…I care so much." Edward finished lightly. I looked at him, weighing my options. Basically I could either tell him how I felt, or hold my thoughts to myself.

"I'm not really used to trusting people enough to let them get inside my head." I said quietly.

"Well…do you trust me?" Edward asked me seriously. I paused before answering him.

"Yes. I trust you."

"I'm glad…does that mean you will tell me what's on your mind?"

"As much as Renee hurt me while I was with her, I loved her…I still do. It really hurts that she would except money over me. I'm glad that I can stay with you and your family, I really am, but it would have been nice if she would have put up some sort of fight. I know that your dad gave her a lot of money, and I guess a lot of people would take the money, but I guess I would have thought that your own child would hold more value to you than any sum of money." As I finished, I had a few tears rolling down my face, and I hated myself for crying. Renee certainly wasn't crying over losing me, why was I crying over losing her. "Why am I hurting? I'm sure she's not!" I said, my voice raising, with new found anger.

"You hurt because you care about people. Renee is your mother, and even though she's been awful to you, you still have a very significant tie to her. You have her blood, and she is a part of you." Before Edward could continue I lashed out.

"Well those same things apply to her, but she's not missing me! She doesn't care about me, or what happens to me! For all she knows I could be living in a whore house! As long as she has her money, she's a happy camper." I yelled.

"Bella, Renee is not a good person. She's not like you! Not in any way. Maybe one day she will realize what she's lost, but you can't waste time wondering why she is the way she is." Then I broke down.

"It's because I'm not good enough for her. I never was, and I never will be. I wasn't what she wanted. I was just one her many mistakes, and she wishes that I didn't exist." Edward gripped my shoulders, and looked directly into my face.

"You cannot blame yourself Bella! You just can't! You did not do anything wrong. This is your mothers doing, not yours. You haven't done anything wrong. Anyone in this world would be more than lucky to have you."

I threw myself onto Edward and attacked his lips with my own. I couldn't justify my actions, but I just felt a need to be closer to him. No one had ever said anything like that to me, and all I wanted was to feel something other than the anger and rejection I was feeling at the moment. Edward didn't respond to my actions right away, but after a moment he seemed to loosen up, and he draped his arms gently around my waist holding me in place on his chest. As I went to slide my tongue into his mouth, he stopped slowly. Giving me a soft kiss before pulling his head back and looking into my eyes. He rubbed my back gently with his hand. I didn't understand why we had stopped, but as I laid there, with him rubbing my back, I really didn't care. I felt an unreal amount of love in that moment, and I never wanted that feeling to end. Edward didn't pretend to care about me just to get something from me. He genuinely cared, and that really meant a lot to me.

"Thank you." I whispered into his chest, where I had placed my head. It was strange not to hear a heart beat, but I didn't feel uncomfortable around him.

"You are more than welcome." He kissed my cheek gently. We stayed like that for several moments and then Edward spoke up again.

"Do you want to go out for a walk? You haven't been out of the house for a while." I nodded into his chest, and started pushing myself up.

"Fresh air sounds nice." I said as I stood up, and gave my hand to Edward to pull him up as well.

We walked down the stairs hand in hand, and when we reached the bottom we saw Carlisle and Esme sitting on the couch together watching some show on TV.

"What are you two watching?" I inquired.

"Who knows?" Esme replied. "Girl likes guy, guy likes two different girls, mother has cancer, father works too much, but somehow they still manage to live in perfect bliss…what show isn't like this?" Esme finished with a laugh. I giggled next to Edward.

"We're going for a walk." Edward announced. "Enjoy your show." He ended smiling.

"Oh we will!" Esme assured us jokingly. "Have fun on your walk."

"Thank you." I replied, and then Edward led me out the door.

"So…" Edward started.

"So…" I replied mockingly. Edward smiled down at me.

"Are there things that you are going to need…I mean now that you are living with us?"

"Other than food I'm pretty much set."

"There's nothing you want?" Edward raised one of his eyebrows at me.

"Nope." I shook my head.

"Well…what about a car? I think you should have a car." He said insistently.

"I have my truck."

"You need something better than that. I want you to drive something safer…much safer."

"Edward I will be fine." He shook his head.

"If you won't let me get you a new car, then I guess I will just have to drive you everywhere." He said smiling hugely.

"I don't really think that's necessary Edward."

"I do. That truck could just break down."

"I'll be fine."

"I'm getting you a cell phone."

"Edward." I said with a warning tone.

"If you are going to continue to drive that truck of yours, then you will have a cell phone.

"So…if I allow you to get me a cell phone, you won't make me get a new car?"

"For now…but you will just ride with me."

"But if I'm riding with you, then why would I need a cell phone?"

"Bella…" Edward said with an annoyed tone to his voice.

"Edward…" I said in the same way.

"I want you to have it for safety reasons, ok?" I huffed.

"Fine Edward, you can get me a cell phone…are you happy?"

"Almost."

"Edward…" I started, but he cut me off with a kiss, which I instantly deepened.

"Now I'm pretty happy, but do you know what would make me happier?"

"I can only guess that you are about to say buying me a new car."

"How did you know?" He asked in mock shock.

"I'm just that good I guess."

"That must be it."

We walked for a few moments in silence, and I swung our hands high in the air. "So…" I started.

"Yes?" Edward replied happily.

"Are we just walking around aimlessly, or do you have a planned destination?"

"If I answer that it will ruin the surprise." He responded nonchalantly.

"So then you have a planned destination."

"I didn't say that." Edward said seriously.

"But you just said it would ruin the surprise."

"Well maybe I'm surprising you by taking you around aimlessly." Edward suggested.

"Maybe…but I highly doubt it."

"You are too smart for my surprises, huh?"

"Guess so." He leaned down and placed a soft kiss to my cheek.

"So…are you going to tell me where we are going?"

"No. Then I would really ruin the surprise." He said smiling brightly.

"Right, and that would be so horrific."

"I know! That's exactly why I can't tell you."

"Well…will we be there soon?"

"Stop asking questions beautiful." I pouted and Edward just smiled at me. "You look adorable when you do that." I tried to grimace, but Edward just laughed at me, so I went back to my pout.

Edward just shook his head and continued to laugh at me.

"Would you stop?" I asked.

"I'm sorry love."

"No you aren't."

"You're right, I'm not. But you are really cute."

"Stop sucking up." I said trying to act mad, but it was impossible with Edward.

All of a sudden Edward took a few steps ahead of me, and then turned to face me, and pulled me into his arms. "We're here doll." He said and then kissed my head.

I turned my head to look at my surroundings, and what I saw was a serene meadow. We were standing in a clearing that was surrounded by trees, and off behind Edward there was a small stream that flowed beautifully in different twists and turns. I drew in a sharp breath. "It's gorgeous." I whispered.

"I like to come here to think." Edward claimed. I felt like he was sharing his special place with me, and it made me feel extremely lucky to have someone as amazing as Edward in my life.

He pulled me towards the meadow and then he sat down and pulled me down to sit in between his legs. As I sat down I relaxed into his hard chest, and allowed my arms to lie on his thighs. I sighed in content, and Edward kissed my neck with the utmost kindness.

We stayed like that for a long time. It could have been an hour, it could have been three. I didn't now, and I didn't care, because I was with Edward, and everything was going to be ok, as long as I had him.

All of a sudden we heard a movement in the bushes, and I felt Edward tense up under me. He quickly stood up, pulling me up as well, and stood in front of my body, protecting me from whatever was in those bushes.

**A/N: So…thoughts? Opinions? What's in the bushes? **

**Just so everyone knows, there may not be many more chapters, but they most likely will be longer than previous chapters, probably around the length of this one. **

**Reviews really do make me update faster ;)**


	19. Unsuspected Hunter

**A/N: So I didn't get very many reviews, but I have a feeling I know why. I deleted the two author's notes, so now all that is posted is the story, however if you reviewed on the author's notes, then you wouldn't be able to review on the previous chapter or this one…so if you like this one a whole lot, or you have questions or anything, you could send me a pm ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with the Twilight saga; it all belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 19: Unsuspected Hunter

_Edward's Point of View:_

My lips were pulled over my teeth, and I was standing protectively in front of Bella. She had placed her hands on my shoulders, and moved very close to my back.

"Edward what's going on?" She whispered in my ear. I turned my head very slightly to shush her, not that it would matter. Any vampire would be able to smell her, and hear her heartbeat.

From behind the bushes a tall, slender male walked out, with a cocky grin on his face. His name was Justin, and he used to be one of Carlisle's dear friends. Carlisle hadn't mentioned him for decades, and he never really said what had happened with Justin. I'd assumed that Justin had died in one-way, or another. However from the looks of it, he was very much alive.

"Why you must be Edward?" Justin spoke, with a tone of leadership. He was used to being the top guy.

"Yes. I am. I'm guessing you are Justin." I all but snarled out.

"Yes that's correct. Has Carlisle told you about me?"

"He's told me some."

"But let me guess, you can read my mind to figure out the rest, right?"

"That's right." I said angrily. He had noticed Bella, as I knew he would. The fact that I saw it coming didn't make it any easier for me to deal with his thoughts now.

_She certainly is a pretty one. Not much compared to our kind, but for her type, she definitely has something…special. And that scent of hers! It's delicious. _

"Why are you here?" I asked, trying to hold in my anger.

"Well I was just scouting out new places to hunt, and I came across the familiar scent of a vampire coven, and I figured, I would stop by and see who I came across. I never thought I'd be lucky enough to find the famous Cullen clan."

"Are you traveling alone?" The less I said the better.

"No. My mate, Juliet is also traveling with me, she's off somewhere…" He trailed off.

"Somewhere doing what? Hunting? I certainly hope she isn't hunting humans, because we are not that kind of coven, and we do not need to be discovered."

"If you don't hunt humans, then what are you doing with this girl?"

"That's my business."

"Is this a matter the Volturi should know about?" Justin asked with a knowing tone to his voice.

"There is no need for Volturi interference. We are not doing anything wrong."

"Well it seems that this girl knows what you are, which means that you spilled our secret, and that's reason for execution." Justin explained.

All of a sudden I realized that Bella was no longer behind me. I spun around quickly to look for her, but I couldn't find her anywhere.

"What did you do?" I asked, anger burning in my veins.

"Whatever do you mean dear Edward?"

"Where's the girl?" I asked through barred teeth. All of a sudden, a woman stepped into my vision, and in her arms was Bella, my Bella.

"Let her go." I said menacingly. I was one against two, and I knew that my chances were rather slim with the two of them. I don't know how I missed that they took Bella from me, and Justin was clearly trying to keep me out of his thoughts, and so far he was doing a good job.

Juliet didn't let Bella go, and I was ready to pounce, when the rest of my family appeared.

"Hello Justin." Carlisle said.

"Hello dear friend. How have you been?"

"I've been good. Justin what are you doing here?" Carlisle asked exasperated.

"I came to find some new meat." He said smiling. I could sense that Carlisle was getting frustrated, and that wasn't like him at all. Jasper must have sensed it as well, because he sent out a wave of calm.

"Not here Justin. If that's what you are really looking for, please continue to move along. You know that our diet consists of only animal blood. Please do not give us any problems here. Now please release the girl."

"What is she to your family? She's just a human, and now that she knows, you should just kill her, you don't need to have problems with the Volturi."

"We won't be having problems with the Volturi." Carlisle spoke with so much authority, that it was impossible to question him. "Now, let her go."

Justin nodded to Juliet and she released Bella from her grip. Bella raced over to me, and flung herself into my chest. I wrapped my arms tightly around her.

"Did she hurt you?" I asked her, looking her directly in the eye. Bella shook her head no.

"She just scared me." That was understandable. Juliet didn't exactly look like the nicest thing to cross. She shivered in my arms, and I rubbed her back gently.

"You're ok. I'll never let that happen again." I whispered to her.

"I guess we should probably get a move on Juliet." Justin informed his mate.

"We just got here though, and I thought you said you wanted to visit an old friend."

"I've already done it, and it seems he isn't ready to forgive me yet." Justin said glumly.

Justin walked over to Carlisle. "I won't be informing the Volturi of this…" He pointed to Bella. "But you should be careful anyways. You know the rules for our kind are strict."

"Goodbye Justin." Carlisle said coldly.

"Goodbye…and Carlisle?"

"What?"

"I am sorry." With that Justin and Juliet left.

We all stood silently in the meadow watching the two depart. We stayed like that for several minutes, when finally Carlisle spoke. "Lets get home."

XxXxXxXxX

"I'm going to take a shower." Bella told me as we got back to the house.

"Ok. There's a towel under the sink." I explained to her.

"Thanks." She kissed my cheek, and then scampered off towards the stairs. I waited until I heard the shower start, and then I went down to the basement where I knew the rest of my family were.

"We aren't in any danger." Alice said as I walked down the stairs. "At least we aren't now. Justin meant it when he said that he wouldn't tell the Volturi about Bella."

"Then we don't have anything to worry about." I said, even though I knew my family would think other wise.

"That's not completely true Edward." Rose said softly, I could tell she wasn't trying to pick a fight today. I sighed in defeat.

"I know." I claimed.

"Eventually the Volturi could find out about Bella." Emmett said the words we had all been thinking.

"So what do we do?" Esme asked.

"We really don't have many choices." Carlisle said. "The choice of killing her isn't a choice at all, and that only leaves making her one of us."

"No." I said simply.

"No!" Rose shrieked. "You can't damn her to this life!" She said with rage.

"Rose, baby, shh. We haven't done anything yet." Emmett said as he wrapped his arms around her waist, and tried to calm her down.

"But they will! Edward will probably be the one to do it." Rose cried out.

I couldn't believe that she would think I would do that, but as I thought about it I realized that it would most likely either be Carlisle or myself who would do it. I would do it myself, if anyone was going to do it.

"We don't need to do anything right away, but something will need to be done. You never know when another coven will come along, and they may not be willing to let our secret slide."

"We have Alice though, won't she be able to sense when someone is coming?" Esme asked.

"She didn't sense Justin." I muttered.

"I'm so so sorry Edward. I wasn't paying attention…I was...well I was…" She looked towards Jasper, and then finished her statement. "Preoccupied. I will make sure to be more on guard from now on though. I promise."

"Even though we have Alice, you need to talk to Bella. You should prepare her, and see how she feels about being transformed. If she doesn't want to be, then we will need to figure something else out." Carlisle explained.

"Like what?" Emmett asked. I tensed, because I knew what Carlisle was thinking.

"We would have to give her up." Rose said happily.

"Rose!" I said angrily.

"Look Edward, Bella is great, and I understand that, but it's not fair to push this life on her. I know that you love her, hell I've even begun to love her, but that doesn't mean that we can just make her one of us."

"Just talk to her." Carlisle said. I nodded.

As if on cue, I heard the water in the shower turn off and I slowly made my way upstairs, giving Bella enough time to get dressed. I reached the door, and tapped lightly on it.

"Come in." I heard her sweet melodic voice respond.

She was sitting on the bed brushing her hair, and she looked lovely in her sweat pants and lace camisole. I had an urge to pull her into my arms and make endless love to her, but I knew that I couldn't. I knew that I could hurt her very easily, and I also knew that I needed to talk to her. So instead of having sex with Bella, I sat down next to her, and placed a soft kiss on her head.

"We need to talk." I said simply. Bella nodded her head knowingly. I wished I could read her thoughts, because it seemed like she knew something bad was coming.

"Couldn't you just make me into one of you?" She asked. And I pulled back in shock.

"Excuse me?!" I asked. "What did you just say?"

"Well…I don't know who the Volturi is, but…well it seems like there's a problem with the fact that I'm human, so what if you changed me?"

"Bella you don't know what this life is like." I said sadly.

"Maybe not, but I know that I love this family, and that I want to always be a part of it. And I know that I'm in love with you." She added the last part softly. I turned to look at her, and her eyes held nothing but sincerity.

"You could never be human again. You couldn't have the human experiences."

"Like what?"

"For starters, you most likely won't be able to attend college, at least for several years. You will never be able to have a child." Bella stopped me there.

"Edward, those things don't really matter. I've never had a strong desire to be a mother. I don't need a child to make me happy. All I need is you."

"You already have me though."

"If I'm not changed, will I always be able to have you?" She was too smart for her own good, and I hated it.

"Possibly…" I said.

"But most likely not?" She asked. I simply nodded. Bella leaned into my side. "Then do it. Change me." She said eagerly.

"No." Bella pulled away quickly from me, with tears in her eyes. "You don't want me?" She questioned. I quickly pulled her back into my arms.

"No, that is not what I meant. I want you more than anything. And I want you forever. I just think you should think about this."

"If I think about it, and I still want to be changed, will you do it?" I nodded slowly. "If it's really what you want, then yes, I will change you." She nodded, and relaxed into my side.

"EDWARD! BELLA!" Alice screamed happily. "GAME TIME!"

"We don't have to go if you don't want to." I told Bella.

"That's ok, lets go play a game." Bella said happily. She stood up and kissed my cheek.

**A/N: Tell me what you think! I'd really appreciate it ;)**


	20. Game Night

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with the Twilight saga; it all belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.**

**I also do not own any of the songs that will be used in this chapter, and I will list them all at the end ;)**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 20: Game Night

_Edward's Point of View:_

"So Alice, what's the game for tonight?" I asked skeptically. Alice was always coming up with insane games.

"Sing a song." Alice replied happily.

"Do you want to explain how this game works?" Emmett questioned.

"Alright so we pick a topic, most people play this game at wedding showers, so the topic is weddings, but we can choose any topic. Then we all write down words and put them in a hat. We split into teams of two; I figured we would play couples style. Then each team takes turn pulling out words and you have to sing a verse of a song that has that word in it. However the team doesn't tell everyone the word, and the other teams have to guess which word from the song was the word the other team chose."

"Is there a time limit on how long we have to come up with a song?" Esme asked.

"Yeah. Usually it's a thirty second limit, but we should all agree on the amount of time, and if we find that that isn't enough time we can always add a few seconds. The game is meant to be challenging, however it's not meant to be impossible."

"I think thirty seconds is a good place to start." Rosalie commented.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright, what should the topic be?" Jasper asked.

No one spoke for several moments, while everyone brainstormed.

"What if we just make the topic affection? I mean Alice said that usually the topic is weddings, so why don't we stick to that, but not specifically weddings, just love." Bella suggested.

"I personally think that's a great idea." Alice said.

"Then affection it is?" I said, asking to see if everyone else was good with that, and they were.

Alice pulled out slips of paper and passed them out to everyone along with pens.

"Everyone can write down two words, and then put your slips of paper in the hat. Remember to make the words fit into the topic."

Everyone wrote down their words, folded their piece of paper and dropped them in the hat.

"What order are we going in?" Rose asked.

"Carlisle and Esme, You and Emmett, Me and Jasper, and then Edward and Bella."

"Ok." Everyone nodded.

"You can pick." Carlisle told Esme. Esme smiled and reached into the hat.

She opened the piece of paper and leaned over to show Carlisle.

_Kiss_

Carlisle whispered something into Esme's ear, and she smiled brightly and nodded her head happily.

Right when they were about to bust a tune out, Alice hopped up and down excitedly.

"I think that if the word is an action, then the action needs to be acted out after you sing your song." Alice said happily.

"I think that's a good idea." Rose smiled seductively at Emmett, and he quickly nodded his head in agreement.

I looked over at Bella, and she looked rather nervous, so I leaned over and whispered in her ear. "It will be ok." She nodded quickly, obviously not fully trusting me. I smiled, and pecked her cheek gently.

"How will that work though? If we act out the word, then the other teams will automatically know what the word is." Jasper pointed out.

"We can do it after people guess." Alice said like it was obvious.

"Can we sing our song now?" Carlisle asked, with a joking tone in his voice.

"Go for it!" Alice cheered!

"_Does he love me, I wanna know. How can I tell if he loves me so? Is it in his eyes?" _Esme sang sweetly.

"_Oh no you'll be deceived." _Carlisle responded to her.

"_Is it in his eyes?" _Esme sang back.

"_Oh no he'll make believe. If you wanna know, if he loves you so, it's in his kiss." _Carlisle finished off.

"Kiss!" Bella said happily! Carlisle nodded, and pulled Esme towards him, and gently kissed her lips.

"Nice job!" Rose said, and Emmett made a low cat call. Carlisle tossed a pillow at him.

"Jeesh, we don't need to go throwing things! I was simply admiring your kissing talent." Emmett said smiling. Carlisle simply rolled his eyes. "Next." Carlisle said.

Emmett pulled a piece of paper out, and opened it up, showing it to Rose.

_Squeeze _

Emmett started off, without even discussing with Rose, but as he began singing she just smiled. His song choice shocked me.

"_Treat me sweet and gentle. When you hold me tight. Just squeeze me. But please don't tease me." _ I couldn't help but chuckle quietly. Hearing Emmett sing such a slow song, it was strange. But then Rose continued the song, and it wasn't funny anymore. No one could deny that she had a beautiful singing voice.

"_I get sentimental when you hold me tight. Come and squeeze me. But please don't tease me." _She sang it directly to Emmett, and I could see that this game was bringing out a lot of passion between the couples. Emmett pulled Rose to himself hungrily, and wrapped his arms around her waist, but quickly lowered them to her ass and gave it a squeeze. Rose let out a small chuckle, but did the same to Emmett, and then she relaxed into his arms, and kissed his neck. "Next." She called out.

"You guys! You aren't supposed to act it out until after people guess!" Alice said feigning anger.

"Woops! Guess I couldn't control my self." Rose bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Alice rolled her eyes and slipped her hand into the hat, and pulled out a slip of paper.

_Caress _

"O! I know! I know!" Alice screamed happily. She whispered in Jasper's ear, and he groaned slightly. "Please Jazzy?" Alice cooed. "We are going to switch off for each line." Alice announced. We all nodded, and she started.

"_So let me hold you." _

"_Girl caress my body." _

"_You got me going crazy – you turn me on." _

"_Turn me on…"_

"_Let me jam you." _

"_Girl wine all around me." _

"_You got me going crazy – you turn me on."_

"_Turn me on…" _Jasper finished off.

"Is it on?" Emmett asked. Rose punched him in the gut.

"Ow! Rose that hurt! Why would you do that?"

"Because you are dumb! Why would the word be on?"

"Turn me on!" Emmett said!

"Can a team guess more than once?" Rose asked, while rolling her eyes at Emmett.

"Go ahead Rose." Alice said nicely. "I"ll give you half the points if you get it right."

"Caress." Rose said, like it was so obvious. Alice nodded and wrote down everyone's points, seeing as she had forgotten to do it before. Then Jasper pulled Alice close to him, and slowly rolled his hands along Alice's petite body, gently caressing every inch of her upper body. She placed a soft kiss on his lips, and rested her head on his shoulder, as he continued to move his hands slowly along her stomach.

"Your turn Bella!" Alice said happily, and passed the hat over to her.

Bella shyly took a piece of paper out of the hat, and then her face went pale. I gently took the piece of paper out of her hand, and immediately glared at Emmett.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Emmett asked. I just shook my head at him. I looked back down at the paper.

_Sucking_

I was surprised when Bella was the one to whisper a song title into my ear, and I was shocked by her choice. It fit all to perfectly with my life style, but I nodded my head, agreeing with her choice. Bella started singing.

"_A chandelier is our source of light. I'm breathing in the golden air tonight. Time is right." _

"_It's your innocent skin I like. Oh…oh…oh…sucking your blood, oh…oh…oh…your neck is so delicately white, inviting my mouth for the bite. My teeth…your vein, like wine from a chalice I drink." _I finished off.

"Bite?" Alice guessed. Bella shook her head no. I was surprised Alice wasn't able to figure it out, since she was able to see the future.

"Sucking." Carlisle said knowingly. Bella nodded, and then turned towards me. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, and she certainly did look uncomfortable. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to." I told her.

"Edward if you don't do it, you lose."

"It's ok." Bella said, and then she moved towards, me and latched her lips onto my neck. Her sudden movement shocked me, but the feeling of her open mouth on my neck felt wonderful. I was shocked that she had made the movie, but I certainly wasn't about to complain about this wonderful sensation. Bella moved her lips up to my jaw, and sucked gently along until she hit my lips. I hungrily kissed her back, and moved my lips to her neck, and gently sucked. When Emmett whistled loudly, I pulled away and saw Bella's face completely flushed.

"Alice I think they should get extra points for that scene!" Emmett said happily.

I glared at him, and Rose smacked him. He looked at her with pleading eyes.

"You are helping them win!" Rose complained.

"Don't worry Rose. The points system is fair." Alice let her know.

"Who's winning?" Rose asked.

"Edward and Bella are tied with Carlisle and Esme." Alice announced. "Now it's Carlisle and Esme's turn again."

This time Carlisle chose the piece of paper, and then showed it to Esme.

_Baby_

Esme whispered to Carlisle, and then began singing.

"_I'll make you happy, baby. Just wait and see. For every kiss you give me. I'll give you three. Oh, since the day I saw you, I have been waiting for you. You know I will adore you. Till eternity. So won't you please…" _Esme finished off, and Carlisle started up.

"_Be my little baby. Say you'll be my darling. Be my baby now." _ Carlisle smiled brightly at Esme, and then turned to face us!

"Baby!" Bella said immediately.

"Damn girl! You are good at this." Alice applauded her and wrote down more points.

"Alice, do we need to act our word out?" Carlisle asked.

"Not every word is an action, so no, you do not." She replied to Carlisle.

Carlisle handed the hat to Rose, and she pulled a piece of paper out. She looked at Emmett with a huge grin on her face, and then showed him.

_Grind_

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Emmett asked Rose. Rose leaned over and whispered to Emmett, and he nodded happily. "Yup you are." He said.

"_Baby grind on me. Relax your mind, take your time with me. Let me get deeper shawty ride on me." _Emmett sang first.

"_Now come and sex me till yo body gets weak. Just grind with me baby." _Rose finished off seductively.

"Grind." I said, with disgust clear in my tone.

"Yup!" Emmett said happily. "That was one of my words!" He was clearly proud of himself.

"We know!" We all said.

Emmett stood up, pulling Rose up with him, and they moved their bodies together in a way that should only be done in a bedroom.

"Ok, Emmett, Rose, that's enough." Carlisle spoke up. "Save it for later." Emmett huffed and sat down on the couch, but pulled Rose down onto his lap, covering up the situation he was currently in. Unlike most people though, Emmett wasn't ashamed at all.

"My turn!" Alice exclaimed. "Jazzy do you want to pick?"

"That's ok. You can do it."

_Honey_

I showed Jasper, and he nodded, and began thinking. Alice whispered to Jasper, and he nodded with a slight smile.

"_Honey, honey, honey. You're the death of me. Won't stop holding my hands down. Baby, baby, baby, you never let me..." _Alice sang.

"_You've got a dark heart. You've got a cold kiss. You are my love, my love, my love." _Jasper finished with a firm smile planted on his face.

"Honey!" Rose said with a ton of energy.

"That's it!" Alice responded with the same amount of enthusiasm. "Ok, Edward and Bella, you two have the last word." She handed the hat to me, and I pulled the final word out of the hat.

_Hug_

Bella instantly whispered in my ear, and I quickly nodded.

"_Boy you can put me on you like a brand new white tee. I'll hug your body tighter than a pair of your jeans." _

"_I want you to caress me like a tropical breeze, and float away with you in a Caribbean sea." _I finished off, and everyone looked at us with confused faces. After several minutes of silence, Jasper spoke up.

"Hug?" He asked, not very sure of his answer.

"That's it." Bella said smiling, and then she threw herself into my arms, and hugged me tightly.

"So game over?" Rose asked.

"Yup, games over." Alice confirmed. She looked at the score pad, and added everyone's totals up. "So who wants to know the winning team?"

"We do!" Rose and Emmett both exclaimed.

"Bella and Edward are the winners." Alice said. "Congrats."

"What do we win?" Bella asked.

"A fully catered movie night in the theater downstairs."

"That's nice…but what does Edward get?"

"Alone time with the love of his life." I whispered in her ear, and her cheeks turned to a beautiful shade of red. Alice simply winked at Bella.

"The theater is all ready for the two of you." Alice told us.

I stood up and gave my hand to Bella to help pull her up, and I led her downstairs. There was a mattress placed on the center of the floor with candles surrounding it. On the big screen TV the movie Hitch had just started. There were tons of pillows all over the mattress, and a huge blanket, making the bed very inviting. Bella released my hand, and settled herself on the bed, leaning into the pillows, laying on her side, and crossing her legs. She smiled sweetly at me and crooked her finger. With that simple gesture, she was killing me. My strong barriers came crashing down, and I slowly moved towards the bed, and placed my body a few feet a way from Bella, laying in the same way she was.

"Why are you so far away?" Bella asked me seductively. I groaned.

"Bella you're killing me." I said running a hand through my hair.

"Just let go." She told me, as she placed her hand on my chest. I stared down at her hand for a second, and then looked at her face, however I wasn't met with her eyes when I looked at her. Her eyes were roaming over my body hungrily. All of a sudden she clenched my shirt in her hand, and attempted to pull me towards her, but I was much stronger. That didn't stop her attempts to get closer to me though. Instead she moved closer to me, pushing her chest into mine. Before I knew it her lips were on my neck, sucking and licking, causing moans to escape my lips.

"Bella." I moaned. "Wait." Bella kept kissing my neck.

"Why?" Bella asked huskily.

"Bella I could hurt you."

"I'm not worried." She whispered in my ear, as she tugged gently on it with her teeth.

"You really…" I lost my train of thought as Bella moved her lips to mine. Suddenly it came back to me, and I gently pushed her off. "You really should be."

"So you aren't enjoying this?" Bella asked as she trailed her hands down my torso, and it felt so good, that I had a hard time remembering why I was acting against this.

"Of course I'm enjoying this. Bella I refuse to hurt you though." With that I sat up, and pushed her away from me.

"Edward, I've made my decision."

"About?"

"Change me Edward."

"Bella…"

"Edward it's not just for this." She pointed between the two of us. "I love you. I want to be like you. I want you forever. I would not be able to handle ever losing you."

"I'll need to talk to Carlisle."

"Let's watch the movie." Bella said with a smile.

**A/N: What did you think? I know it was pretty much filler. I'm sorry for that. There are probably only one or two more chapters left. **

**Review!**

**Shelby**

**Songs used in this chapter: **_**Betty Everett – It's In His Kiss, Diana Krall – Squeeze Me, Kevin Lyttle – Turn Me On, Mercyful Fate – Sucking Your Blood, Ronnettes – Be My Baby, Pretty Ricky – Grind On Me, Hush Sound – Honey, and Mariah Carey – Touch My Body **_


	21. Justin & Change

**A/N: I'm very sorry for the delay. Everything may not match with Twilight perfectly, however this is how I want it done. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with the Twilight saga; it all belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Bittersweet**_

_both pleasant and painful, or regretful_

Chapter 21: Justin & Change

_Carlisle's Point of View_

I sat in my office contemplating the events that had been occurring. Justin had come back, and he left peacefully. As I sat thinking things over, I pulled out a letter he had written me several years prior.

_Carlisle, my brother, my friend, _

_Through the years you have always been there for me. I've made many mistakes, but you always forgave me, and you never once pushed me away. However I realize that I've made a huge mistake now. One in which you may never forgive me for. Whether you believe it or not, it was an accident. I didn't mean to take their lives. It just happened. We were arguing, and things got out of control…_

I was pulled from the note, when there was a light tapping on the door.

"Come in." Edward walked in, and looked at me seriously.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his voice filled with concern. I shook my head, in attempts to clear my mind.

"Don't worry about it. What do you need?" I continued to clear my mind, and attempted to relax my facial expression.

"What I need can wait. Carlisle, what's going on?"

I took a deep breath.

"I was reading a letter I received a very long time ago, before you were even part of the family."

"Who's the letter from?" I paused for a long moment, and Edward looked at me curiously.

"Justin."

"Was he a friend of yours?"

"Edward…" I started.

"Carlisle, if he was, just tell me. It's not like I hold his actions against you."

"Edward." I stated more sternly. "Justin is my brother." Edward's eyes seemed to bug out of his head.

"What?" He asked in shock. "Like…you changed him, and called him your brother?" Edward was trying to make sense of what I had revealed to him.

"No Edward. My parents had me, and then they had another son, Justin."

"I don't understand." Edward stammered.

"Justin was changed the day he was born. He wouldn't have made it out of the hospital alive, the nurses all knew that. One of the nurses happened to be a vampire, and she changed him. The doctors told my parents that Justin was in critical condition, which he was. Three days later my parents were allowed to take Justin home."

"But he was a newborn…wasn't that dangerous?"

"Justin was special. He was in complete control. It was very bizarre, however when he turned fifteen, he became dangerous. It was like the first fifteen years of his life weren't real vampire years."

"So basically he went through the new born stage, fifteen years late?"

"That's exactly what happened."

"So what did your parents do?" Edward questioned. I stared at the ceiling for a while, trying to decided how much I was willing to tell Edward, but then I realized, I'd already started the story, and I needed to finish it.

"One day my parents came home from work, and found the house trashed. A plumber had come by to do some work on the kitchen sink, and Justin had been home. Justin attacked the plumber, and in the process made a mess of the entire house. Somehow the plumber had escaped from Justin, but my parents obviously wanted an explanation as to why the house was in pieces. Justin tried to make up excuses, but my parents didn't buy any of it. They argued for a while, but Justin got so enraged…" I trailed off, as Edward looked at me curiously. "Justin killed my parents, and I walked in as he was finishing them off."

"Oh my god." Was all Edward could manage to say.

"I had always known something was different about Justin, I just never realized it was like that."

"So what did he say to you?"

"He simply explained himself, he explained what he was. He had done some intense research, and had been planning to visit the Volturi to make more sense out of who and what he was. Since I knew his secret though, he changed me. After that I went in my own direction. I left him, and I hadn't seen him until just now, when he approached you and Bella."

"So you hold a grudge because he killed your parents?" Edward asked.

"I know that may seem harsh, and I have thought about forgiving him, seeing as I have now felt the urge to take a life, but I can't. He took my parents away from me, and he knew that he was capable of that. He should have left in my opinion. He put our family in grave danger."

"I'm not judging you Carlisle. You need to do what is right for yourself."

I took a deep breath, and decided I had spoken enough about this particular subject.

"Now Edward, what did you need?" Edward cleared his throat, and looked me in the eye.

"Bella has decided that she would like to be changed. She seems to think that this is what is best. She claims she has thought it over."

"I see. And what do you think?"

"I think she's young and still has things she should do with her life…but honestly, I want her. I want her so bad."

"Then I think a change would be ok. We will prepare her, and try to make the transformation as easy as possible."

"Do you really think it's the right thing to do?" Edward asked me, concern thick in his words.

"Yes. I actually do. It might make things easier for her."

"When should we do it?"

"How about next week? Within that weeks time we should discuss things with her. Make sure she understands what being a vampires entails."

"Sounds like a plan…Carlisle, are you alright? I mean honestly."

"I'll be just fine Edward. I'm going to go watch a movie with Esme for a while. You should let Bella know the plan."

"Ok Carlisle." Edward stood up and walked away.

_Bella's Point of View_

Edward came back downstairs, and plopped down on the bed next to me.

"So?" I asked.

"How does next week sound?"

"Really?!" I asked surprised.

"Yeah really."

"It sounds perfect." I pressed my lips to Edward's gently, and then looked up at him. "Thank you Edward."

**A/N: Ok review please! You should only expect about one more chapter. **


	22. Bittersweet

**A/N: I'm so sorry for such a long delay. This is the final chapter of Bittersweet. Thank you for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with the Twilight saga; it all belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Bittersweet**_

both pleasant and painful, or regretful

Chapter 21: Bittersweet

_Edward's Point of View:_

It had been a long week of discussing the process of the change with Bella. She seemed to think that she fully understood everything, and she still wanted the change to occur. Carlisle had also had a long discussion with her, informing her of all the side effects. She was eager to get the change done and over with, and start her life as a vampire.

"Edward!" I heard Bella call.

"Yes love?" I said as I turned around, to find Bella racing down the stairs, her face flushed, and her hair moving freely. She looked beautiful. When she made it to the bottom of the stairs, I pulled her into my arms, and placed my hand on her cheek.

"I'm really going to miss this." I said as I stroked her cheek with my fingers. She gave me a small smile.

She leaned up and kissed my cheek. "I'll wear lots of blush for you." She whispered in my ear. I cracked a small smile.

"It won't be the same." I said simply. She looked up at me with apologetic eyes, but I knew she still wanted the change.

"Edward…" Bella proceeded cautiously. "I'm ready, and so is Carlisle. The room is all set, and he's got all the drugs that I will need. He asked me to come down and get you."

My hands tightened around her waist, pulling her even closer to me. All I could think was that soon her body would not be soft, like it is now. I kissed the top of her head, and inhaled her scent. I hoped that her smell would not change too dramatically with the change. I moved one of my arms, and took her hand in mine, and left the other arm around her back. I led her up the stairs, and into my bedroom. Carlisle and I had decided my room would be the best place to do it. Carlisle was in the bedroom waiting. He was going to supervise the change, and administer the medication, but I had to do the actual change. I wasn't very worried, I trusted myself enough to know that I could stop.

"Are you all set Bella?" Carlisle asked her. Bella smiled, and nodded quickly.

"Hop on the bed then." Carlisle said serenely.

Bella quickly got onto the bed. I walked over to her, and placed her head gently on the pillow, and I turned her body so that she was lying on her side.

"Why am I on my side?" Bella asked.

"It will be easier for me…if I can't see your facial expression. If I see the pain on your face, I'll have to stop, I hate the idea of putting you in such pain…are you absolutely positive this is what you want?"

Bella grabbed my hand, and pulled me towards her. "I love you Edward. I want to be with you forever, and I want to be a vampire. I know it will be painful, and like nothing I've ever experienced before…well except when I was attacked, but I realize it will be even worse, but this is honestly what I want." She kissed me gently on the lips, and I deepened the kiss slightly, but remembered that Carlisle was still in the room, so I pulled away slowly. I stared into Bella's beautiful eyes, and asked Carlisle if he was ready to begin, not taking my eyes off Bella.

"I'm all set, I already have the first dosage of pain killer ready, I'd like to give it to Bella before you start. Is that ok Bella?"

"Yes." Her voice was quiet. She hated needles, which is why I have such a hard time understanding why she would ever want to go through the pain of change, but I suppose it's too late now.

Carlisle walked towards her, and slipped a needle into her wrist, setting up an IV. He administered the first painkiller, and then stepped away.

"She's all yours." He said to me.

I went behind her, and held her shoulders steady. Slowly I bent down over her neck, and allowed my fangs to sink into her neck. I felt her body tense under me, but I left my teeth in her, for several seconds allowing the venom to get into her blood stream. I pulled my teeth out and when I did, I noticed Carlisle giving Bella more pain medication. Bella's body was trembling, but she wasn't lashing out in pain. Maybe the painkillers were helping more than I thought they would. Next I grabbed her arm, and bit into her several more times, in attempts of speeding up the process. By the time I was finished, Bella was sobbing.

"Edward." She cried out. I turned her body, so that she lay on her back, and wished I hadn't. The pain that I could see in her eyes, was almost more than I could bear.

"Baby, I'm right here. Shh." I tried to comfort her, but my attempts were no good. The pain she was going through could not be quenched by simple, soft words of comfort.

"How long…will this…pain last?" She said between gasps of air.

"It could be a matter of hours, or several days." Carlisle answered her. "Normally it's three days, but I'm hoping with the medicine I gave you, that your change will be more rapid."

"Could we give her something to make her sleep?" I asked.

"I can try, but it may not work, because of the amount of pain that she is in."

"Please, just try." I begged. I felt like I could cry, although obviously I can't. I hated seeing Bella in this kind of pain, and I wished I could take it back. I had never liked the idea of putting her through this. Why had I caved? While I was busy contemplating my stupidity, Carlisle had given Bella a very large dosage of sleeping medication, and all of a sudden her weeping disappeared.

"Wow!" Carlisle said. "It worked." I looked at Bella and surely enough, she was asleep. "I can continue to administer the sleeping medication for the next several days, and keep her in a coma. That way when she wakes up, she will most likely have completed the changed. I nodded in agreement.

"I'll leave you be." Carlisle said, and slowly walked out of the room, leaving me with Bella. I curled up behind her body, and held her in my arms. I could already feel the changes in her body. He skin was still soft, but she was beginning to harden.

I laid with Bella for four days, and Carlisle came in every so often to give her more sleeping medication. On the fourth day he told me that she should be through the pain now. He asked if he could stop giving her the medication.

"Do you think she's truly through the pain?" I questioned him.

"I honestly do. And if for some reason she isn't, we know this medication works, and I can put her back to sleep…but I don't think that will be necessary.

"Ok."

"It could take up to twenty-four hours for her to wake up." Carlisle told me.

"Ok, well I will stay with her." I said. Carlisle nodded, obviously already knowing I would stay with her. He left the room, and I pulled Bella close to me, and turned her body so that she was facing me. I smelled her hair, and realized that she still smelled the same, only sweeter. I was so relieved, that although there were some minor changes, she still seemed mostly the same.

Two hours later, I felt Bella move within my arms. I looked down, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Hi." She said softly, sweetly.

"Good morning beautiful. Sleep well?" She nodded.

"Am I still human?" She asked.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" I pulled her gorgeous body out of bed, and took her to the mirror. The look on her face when she saw herself put a huge smile on my face.

"Oh wow!" She said. She ran her hands down her body, and back up. "I can't believe this is real."

I turned her around, and kissed her gently. Her lips melded into mine differently than they had in the past, and it was a new feeling, a good new feeling. "It is."

"I love you Edward…forever." She leaned up and began kissing me smoothly, and gently, but soon, she slipped her tongue out of her mouth, and used it to part my lips. The feeling of her actions, gave me feelings I had never felt before. I wanted her, and I needed her. I pulled her towards the bed, and we tumbled down. I slipped my fingers under her shirt, and worked them slowly up. I move my lips from her mouth, down to her neck, and then to the hollow under her ear. "I love you too." She opened her eyes, and stared at me lovingly, and I was instantly struck with an idea. I got off the bed quickly and raced to my dresser. I grabbed my mother's ring, and raced back to the bed, pulling Bella up. Once she was standing I quickly dropped to one knee.

I took her left hand into my right hand. "Bella, I love you. I love you so much. I need you in my life permanently, would you marry me?" The smile on Bella's face was enormous.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I will!" I slid the ring onto her finger, and kissed her gently. "I love you Bella."

**A/N: I'm extremely sorry this took as long as it did. This is the end, and I'm sorry if this chapter seemed rushed. Thank you for your support, and of course reviews are always welcome, and appreciated. **

**-Shelby**


End file.
